#lionslayer

So, here we are at the close of the 1st half of the year. And it's with twice as much hope & anticipation than at the start of the year that I look forward to what's ahead for the remainder of 2021.

I want take you to this incredible story in the Bible about courage, never settling, and about the relentless pursuit of the dreams that God has placed in your heart.

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two lion-like men. 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 man of great stature, five cubits tall. The Egyptian had in his hand a spear like a weaver’s beam, 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. These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and won a name beside the three mighty men. He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard. -1 Chronicles 11:22‭-‬25 ESV

I needed to pause when I first came across this passage in order to process it because clearly these are no small feats.

So this Mr. Benaiah, son of Jehoaida, from Kabzeel is not only a hero-conqueror, he's also a lion-slayer and a giant slaughterer. No wonder why he was captain of King David's bodyguard.

I wanna zero in on one of Beniah's three recorded mighty deeds: Benaiah slew a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen (1 Chron. 11:22)

Read it while imagining the scene unfold before your eyes. This is intense!!!

And this is such a special teaching moment because here we learn that while there are times when God delivers us from lions (like Daniel in the den with the lions), there are also times God gives us the strength and courage to slay them.

Now this happened during the most dire of circumstances when the ground was slippery and he could have easily lost his footing. Benaiah slew a lion in a pit. IN A PIT. In a pit. He was up against the worst possible beast, in the worst possible circumstance, and the worst possible place. And yet, he chased and slew that lion down the pit.

When's a good day to go kill a lion? There's none! I'd rather not face one thank you very much. But if a lion does come at you seemingly out of the blue, then let me ask you is there a better time other than TODAY to kill it?

You can't keep putting off the things that you know you need to do today. There are just times in your life when you've got to make up your mind and determine that it's NOW or NEVER.

I want to reference another story in Joshua 17 when the Israelites were being given their portion of land. The children of Manasseh complained that the land allotted to them had Canaanites living there.

And it happened, when the children of Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.  -Joshua 17:13 NKJV

How many of us have grown strong through the trials and the fire, but still allow Canaanites to dwell in our land even when God's clear instruction is to drive them out completely? We can't keep sweeping things under the rug. We can't be partial with our obedience. We can't NOT slay that lion.

Eventually, you will have to run towards the very thing that you're afraid to confront, grab it by the throat, and face it head-on to finally and fully overcome it.

We can't keep waiting for the perfect circumstances before we move. If Benaiah waited for it to stop snowing, he would have been dinner. If he had been content to leave the lion in the pit, who knew if it would come after him? If there's one thing we should NEVER do this 2nd half of the year, or EVER- it's to settle for less.

Don't run away. Don't shy away from uncomfortable situations.

Brave confrontation even in the midst of inconvenience will often times set you up for great victories.

It's not new to us that the sequence of events the past year and a half have unfolded a certain way and so we found ourselves in this pit or cave. Yes we go through the coping or healing process. Yes we indeed had to pivot or adjust. But that doesn't mean we should settle. You've got to stop allowing the circumstances or past hurts, our shame, or our fears dictate our future or stop you from going after what God has for you! We need to make that choice to chase down the lions of impossibilities and fears into the pit and slay it right there.

What is it that you have your eyes on? What's your dream? What's the prayer of your heart that makes you go shikarababaseteyy? What has God been instructing you to do in this season?

I know "Today" looks different for each of us.  And so when I say don't put it off "today", what I mean os do not quench your spirit. If the instruction is to pray, don't put if off. If your dream is to buy a house, start looking for listings and saving up diligently. If you want to write a book, stop spending meaningless time on social media and just start writing. Don't be afraid to start small. Don't despise the days of small beginnings. It always starts with a seed anyway.

When I went through the entire ordeal last year with my heart and my health in the midst of the pandemic, I can't count how many times I wanted to quit being in the ministry because I felt so beat up. But what God did was make it all the more clearer to me where He wants to take me. And so to you who are reading this, I pray that your heart for God and His will for your life would be amplified all the more even in the midst of a day when snow is falling and you feel like you're up against a lion in a pit.

It takes supernatural courage I'll tell you that. But what's great is that courage and tenacity during times of relentless pursuit aren't personality-based. They are dependent on who God has called you to be. You see, the meaning of Benaiah's name is GOD BUILDS, and the meaning of his dad's name Jehoaida means GOD KNOWS. God loves you and KNOWS His plans for you and He KNOWS exactly where to take you. Trust that there is a purpose and a season for every activity under heaven.

God doesn't do things for nothing. He is always intentional with you. God is BUILDING you for something more than what you can ask, think, dream, or even imagine. So to you- hero conqueror, lion slayer, and giant slaughterer- be brave, never settle, and dare to believe.

-K 🌊