History is full of people willing to believe in their dreams. The Wright Brothers created an airplane when others contended “man wasn’t made to fly.” Henry Ford mass manufactured automobiles when people shouted, “Get a horse!” The Biblical general, Gideon, went into battle with 300 soldiers against an army of thousands—and won.
More recently, an unknown teenager was told “skateboarding isn’t a real sport…get a job.” Now, he’s not only a cultural icon, but has a new ride at our very own Discovery Kingdom. “Tony Hawk’s Big Spin” was inspired by his unequaled achievements.
They all overcame great criticism and personal doubts to achieve lifelong dreams.
Deep in the Old Testament is an obscure character named Benaiah. Eventually becoming the captain of King David’s bodyguard, his beginnings were much more anonymous. The 2nd book of Samuel, chapter 23 may contain the most understated Scripture in the entire Bible. Verse 21 says,
“Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it.”
He did what? This short sentence requires more than a casual glance. Chased a lion? Seriously? Where I come from, we run away from lions, not toward them. If that wasn’t crazy enough, it was a snowy day when visibility was poor and sure footing evasive. Instead of escaping while he could, he leapt toward danger.
I’ve occasionally watched Animal Planet with my daughter. Have you ever seen a cornered wild animal? It usually comes out with claws swinging and jaw snapping. Yet somehow, miraculously, Benaiah prevailed.
Hopefully, we’ll never run into a real lion in the wild, but we all face “lions” in our lives from time to time. How we respond when these opportunities arise reveals much about our character and undoubtedly determines our future.
How do we view our “lions”? Are they potential for success or a problem to avoid? It’s been said there are no rewards in life without risk. We either run and hide, giving into our deepest fears, or we chase our God-ordained destiny by seizing our God-ordained opportunity. In fact, maybe taking no risks is actually the biggest risk of all.
I remember being almost too scared to ask a pretty young girl out on a date when I was seventeen. Today, we’ve been married for eighteen years and have three wonderful kids. I guess the risk was worth it!
We must be willing to take risks if we want to enjoy the rewards of life, but we don’t have to risk on our own. God is in the business of strategically placing us in the right place at the right time. Nothing just happens.
Benaiah didn’t just happen to trap and kill a lion. God sets us up for success—we just do the best we can with what we have right where we are. We see limitations but God sees possibilities. They may never seem to show up at the right time or place according to our human estimation. But with God’s help, we can learn to seize them anyway.
Many things keep us from chasing our lions. Overwhelming odds. Suffocating fears. Paralyzing insecurity. Overcoming these obstacles may be extremely difficult, totally opposite to our natural tendencies. But with God, we know all things are possible!
I’m convinced our greatest regrets in life will be missed opportunities. So we must make the most of each day—with our spouses & children, our friends & family, even our businesses & careers.
No one likes living with regrets, but we all have them. Our calling in life is not just to run away from bad things, it’s to run toward good things. In essence, it’s to chase lions—to live on the edge instead of playing it safe. Why? So we can be the way God designed us—fulfilled as we dream…fulfilled as we achieve...fulfilled as we succeed. And our success brings God the glory He rightfully deserves. Our chase is a part of His grand story.
So today, let’s decide to seize our opportunities. Let’s choose to stop running and start chasing our lions! Benaiah did, and so can we.