Run to the Roar
What do you do when there is something worthwhile you really want to do, BUT…. That “but” represents some obstacle that might be intimidation, so you run away from it, considering the obstacle being too threatening. Thus a worthwhile objective goes unfulfilled.
Hidden in I Chronicles 11:22 is a narrative regarding which many illustrations have been made.
“Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a mighty man of Kabzeel, mighty in deeds, struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion inside a pit on a snowy day.”
“Chase the Lion” tells the true story of an ancient warrior named Benaiah who chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day. That is when the story gets good. He didn’t run away, he jumped in the pit with the lion and a furious conflict resulted in Benaiah killing the lion. For most people, that situation wouldn’t just be a problem…it would be the last problem they ever faced. For Benaiah, it was an opportunity to fulfill his destiny. After defeating the lion, he was rewarded by becoming King David’s bodyguard and eventually the commander-in-chief of Israel’s army under King Solomon. Think of his loss had he run away.
Is there something you want to do, an objective you want to achieve, but have run away without jumping in the pit? Rather than face the lion you have chosen not to engage him.
Do you have an aspiration, a dream so impossible that achieving it demands you face your fears, defy the odds, and get a vice grip on the Lord. Remember:
“For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’”
Identify your dream and name the lion. Know what your aspiration is and what is keeping you from at least trying to fulfill it. Devise your strategy and get in the pit. Give yourself a specific time to confront the lion you fear.
The roar of a lion is intimidating. There is a lion in a stage play in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee whose roar at feeding time in the morning can be heard in our cabin two miles away. It is a chilling sound, bullying.
Your lion may have you frozen so you can’t even run away. If your aspiration is a good one, it is good enough for you to even “get in the pit” to achieve it. Don’t cower away in fear.
The shepherd/king David who literally faced his own lion wrote: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)