This past Friday, I had the honor of helping to kick off a new men’s Bible study at our church. I am teaching through one of my favorite books, In the Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson. Week one is the introduction to the study and I wanted to post my notes here on the blog as well. My thanks to Mark Batterson for his material and for his passion to see God’s people become fully engaged disciples. My hope is that these notes will encourage you to draw closer to Jesus in the midst of your challenges and struggles.

Chase the Lion Week 1: Defying Odds
Your view of God- how big or how small He is to you- will determine your spiritual future. Ask yourself: How big is your God? As A.W. Tozar said, “A low view of God is the cause of a hundred lesser evils. A high view of God is the solution to ten thousand temporal problems.”

The story of Benaiah is found in 2Samuel 23:20-23. Benaiah was not the odds on favorite in any of these situations. Out maned and out speared, not to mention the specs of the King of the jungle- Full grown lions weigh 500lbs and run 35 mph. These were crazy scenarios that would make many of us turn tail and run! But not Benaiah. “You have to admit: these victories look pretty good on your resume for the head of security for the king of Israel.”

What seemed like the worst experiences for Benaiah ended up being his big break. God used the most difficult situations in Benaiah’s life to mold him, prepare him, and lead him through to greater things.

Trusting in God to deal with and carry us through our most difficult challenges, experiences, opportunities, and failures requires us to have the proper perspective of our Heavenly Father. He is the creator and sustainer, he is the victor, he is God above all. He is bigger than an 500lb lion of a problem.

“Chasing lions is not about some foolish act of dumb courage, it is about defying odds because we believe in a God who is bigger than what we can comprehend or control.” – Mark Batterson

I want to challenge you to a paradigm shift. Maybe, right now, God is using your toughest challenge to teach you something, to take you to the next level, to reveal himself more fully to you. Are you going to have the courage to go after what God has called you to? He has called you to:

– Have an intimate and deep relationship with his Son, Jesus Christ.
– Fully rely on the Holy Spirit to guide and direct you
– Build strong, healthy families that honor God
– Determine, with His help, to have a rock solid, fire proof marriage
– Leave a legacy of faith that passes down through generations

“There are some parts of being a dad that I can’t outsource if i want to raise Godly kids. There are elements of my marriage that may seem insignificant. But in reality, they’ll determine whether my marriage is won or lost.” – Steven Furtick, pastor of Elevation Church

Everyday, we are faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. The world wants to see us fail- if we fail then they believe that our God fails. Fear not! Christ has overcome the world! (John 16:33; 1Cor 1:18; 2Cor 4:1-18)

The Courage to Defy Odds begins with the proper perspective of who God is and what he is capable of. The proper perspective than drives us to humility before God because we know that while we cannot handle these obstacles on our own, God is fully capable of delivering us through any situation we might face. Even though this runs counterintuitive to the way we want to operate, we must submit to God because his thoughts are not our thoughts, and his ways are not our ways. (Isaiah 55:6-9)

Questions for this week:
Is God bigger than your biggest problem?
Is God bigger than your greatest fear?
Is God bigger than your worst failure?