Cover via Amazon
When my 18-year-old daughter crooned with envy over the book selection I made to blog about, my immediate reaction was one of self-doubt. When the book arrived, I scrutinized the cover, and was still not reassured that I had made the right choice. Who even names a book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day?
Several days passed until I got up the where-with-all to start the book. 171 pages later, I can tell you this young, bold, Washington DC pastor, hit his mark across the generations. If you are in a challenging situation, have had dreams knocking around inside your soul, or are at a crossroads in your life, 20, 50, or 70 years old, this book has good solid inspiration for you.
Mark Batterson does not mince words. He deals with the common excuses we all make for ourselves, head on. His straight forward writing style is full of simple, yet powerful truths. This book is not just about taking risks and making dreams come true, it is about embracing difficult situations and turning them into opportunities.
The story of Benaiah in 2 Samuel 23 is the inspiration for this book. Benaiah, when faced with a lion, did not turn, and run away. Instead, he ran after the lion, chased it into a pit, and killed it. His gutsy move made the way for him to later become in charge of David’s bodyguard. Who wouldn’t want someone with enough guts to chase down and kill a lion, in charge of their well-being?
Many of us will never come face to face with an actual lion but often face lion-sized circumstances. His chapter titled “The Art of Re-framing” deals with strategies on shifting the focus from what is wrong with your situation, to what is right with God. Following are some excerpts from the chapter.
- Opportunities often look like insurmountable obstacles.
- Stop asking God to get us out of difficult circumstances and start asking God what he wants us to get out of those circumstances.
- God is in the business of recycling our pain for someone else’s gain. The more problems you have the more potential you have to help people.
There is another chapter on “Unlearning Your Fears”where the author explores the thought that half of learning is learning and the other half of learning is unlearning. He feels unlearning fears, etc. is twice as hard as learning.
It is easy with each passing year of life to become more at rest or complacent. We don’t want to meet new challenges head on, let alone chase them. In the chapter “Playing it Safe is Risky”, he challenges the reader to step out into the deep waters of change, thus eliminating the possibility of regret later in life for the things you did not do.
If you are at a crossroads, or have had a dream floating around inside, or have a lion sized situation you frequently deal with, this book should inspire you, give you concrete strategies, and point you to God. I rate this book 5 stars.
Waterbrook Multnomah Publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. 
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Be blessed…..Leslie Rose K Dominate Your Diagnosis
Dominate Your Diagnosis 