Chasing Lions

Have you ever regretted doing something that was not so good OR regretted not doing something that you should have done? I have thought about this, especially around a birthday or the beginning of a new calendar year! For my fellow Christians, I am sure that you really want to make your daily life count for God. Surely, you want to be a “mighty disciple” for God.

There is such a person described in the Bible who name was Benaiah. The name “Benaiah “means” “The Lord builds”. First mentioned in 2 Samuel 8:18, Benaiah became known as a lion chaser (2 Samuel 23:20-22):

“Benaiah…was a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, who performed great exploits. He stuck down two of Moab’s best men. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. And he also struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. Such were the exploits of Benaiah… (who)…was as famous as the three mighty men.” (NIV)

Benaiah is a great example of the kind of Christ-follower that God seeks. When facing a challenge such as a lion, I may want to rush in overwhelming fear in the other direction. But, if I always run from every “risky” thing or person, I will never grow or accomplish mighty “exploits” for God. Those who dare to live like Benaiah seize opportunities, not run from them.

In an article “Chase the Lion” ( InTouch), author Mark Batterson writes:

“We all have our share of action regrets. But I’m convinced that if we don’t decide to change now, our deepest regrets at the end of our lives will be the risks that we didn’t take, the opportunities that we didn’t seize, the dreams that we didn’t pursue.”

There are many lions out there for you, for your family, and for our church to chase down, catch and conquer. If we choose to change our mind-set and to quickly seize our opportunities, we can also face, chase, and kill lions in our way for the glory of God.

The reward for Benaiah was the top position as King David’s body guard and, ultimately, commander of King Solomon’s army. Benaiah was mighty in holy living and we can be holy for God’s purposes as well. Mark Batterson notes that…

“Holiness is more than the by-product of simply subtracting something “negative” from our lives; it involves maximizing our God-given potential to live like Jesus.”

And what was Jesus, our Savior like? He chased “lions” that confronted Him. As Dorothy Sayers wrote: “…the people who crucified Jesus did not do so because He was a bore. Quite the contrary; He was too dynamic to be safe.”

Issues of eternity are involved in our decisions and actions. Therefore, let’s join the marathon for God and begin chasing lions!