Scripture: 2 Samuel 23:20 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, who performed great exploits. He struck down two of Moab's best men. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.
Devotional: We learn a lot about Benaiah in this one passage of Scripture. He was a valiant fighter, performing great exploits. He struck down two of Moab’s best men- in the original Hebrew it is also translated “two lion-like men”. Those must have been some men. And if it wasn’t enough for him to kill lion-like men, he went down into a pit on a snowy day and actually killed a lion. Who does that?!
We don’t know why Benaiah killed the lion, but we can clearly see he showed tremendous extraordinary courage. And remember, courage is not the absence of fear, but the overcoming of it.
Wouldn’t you, like Benaiah, want to face the fears that keep you from being extraordinary? Wouldn’t you want to conquer those fears, and do more than you could ever imagine; something that only the heart of God could conceive?
The only way that you will become all that God wants you to be is if, by the power of Christ, you overcome the fears that paralyze you from taking the faith risks that God wants to honor.
You may not be called to go into a pit and kill a lion, but there are opportunities God will give you that will require a lion-chaser mentality; an opportunity to kill something before it kills you.
1 Peter 5:7 reminds us: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Don’t let that someone be you!
Reflect:
- What “lion” do you need to chase down and kill before it kills you?