in a pit, with a lion, on a snowy day.

let me just say, i think this is a great book title. kudos to you, mr. batterson. i probably won't ever read the book, but you get mad props for a killer title.

CLC is doing a series on this book right now which, amusingly, began a few days after i had a dream in which i was being chased by a lion. the key verse of this book is 2 Samuel 23:20-21:

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.

benaiah sounds like a pretty intense dude, if you ask me. but you didn't, so we move on.

i really dig part of amazon.com's description of this book:

"what if the life you really want, and the future God wants for you, is hiding right now in your biggest problem, your worst failure... your greatest fear?"

there is a paradoxical truth about the living God (there are many paradoxical truths about Him, but for lack of insight and time i will explore only one right now), that He takes pleasure in hiding things. not hiding them so that we never find them, but hiding them so that only those who are searching for them will find them. for your reading enjoyment, check out Jeremiah 29:13-14, Proverbs 2:3-5, Matthew 11:25, Luke 9:45, Matthew 13:43-45, Romans 16:25, 1 Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 2:3... the list goes on.

one of my favorites is Proverbs 25:2:

"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, to search out a matter is the glory of kings."

Jesus concealed truth in parables so that only those who had "ears to hear" would understand what He was saying about Himself and the kingdom of God. Jesus spoke in code, and the only requirement for cracking the code was that the listener genuinely wanted to understand its meaning and the man who spoke it. it's pretty simple. the person who searched for understanding could expect to eventually receive it, and as an added bonus would be considered noble by the everlasting God. it's not different today. God is the same.

i happen to think this is a pretty sweet deal.

but, as with most things, there is a problem. i think that a majority of those who would call themselves christians in america today ride on this theology that whatever happens to them is God's will for them. in one sense, this would be good and true... we can always trust that God is in control, and that, in the big picture of history, everything will work together to accomplish His purposes, yes. but this isn't what i mean. what i am supposing is that many of us live in this passive, victim mentality when it comes to God's will for our lives. we pursue our own ideas of comfort and grandeur, thinking He will do what He wants and our lives will just land on target. when problems come, when conflict arises, we back out, saying, "well, this must not be what God wills."

my friends, this mentality is simply not true. it is, almost exclusively, the way of God to redeem out of conflict. the blessing of God rarely comes without at least some sweat and tears, some "chasing of lions" if you will, in the place of prayer... not because we have to somehow earn the blessing, but because God knows our wicked hearts, and knows that, if everything is going smoothly for us, we will not be filled with gratitude and faith when blessing comes. we will think it was our own doing, and we will pat ourselves on the back for our own efforts.

i have been guilty of the victim approach to God's will many times. how many opportunities or blessings i have lost due to my fear or laziness of searching out a matter, i do not know. but i do know this: when a man asks God for wisdom about anything, he should believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. a double-minded man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord (James 1). prayers of faith change things. if you are not releasing faith when you pray, you should not expect to receive what you ask for. if you realize your lack of faith, repent and ask God to fill you with more. faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. the more you absorb the miraculous things our God has done in the past, the more you will believe He can do the same and greater in response to your prayers.

the will of God is supposed to be easy, right? doors just open, things go smoothly, and voila... once in a great while it happens that way. but the truth of the matter is that we were made to labor for reward, so that we feel connected to it (or rather, the One who rewards) when it comes.

i want to be a woman who kills the lion, in a pit, on a snowy day. when all the odds are stacked against me, i want to search out the knowledge of God, and for His kindness to be evident in my life, displaying my great weakness as a trophy of His strength. i am weak, but He is strong. i really can't kill a lion, but He can, and His Spirit lives inside of me.

if i am to get married, i want a man of valor, of courage. a man who also knows that his strength is in the Lord alone. i want a lion killer. i want a man with a kingly heart. really, it's the same thing. unless i meet a man like this, i will remain single. it's as simple as that.

I leave you with a quote:

"Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records."