In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day

2 Samuel 23:20 NIV "Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. "

The Bible is full of stories of people who did things that were scary. Davids mighty men were among them (2 Samuel 23:8-23). Jehoiada jumped into a pit with a lion just to fight it. Three of David's men broke through enemy lines just to get David some water. Eleazar son of Dodai stood his ground against Philistines when Israel retreated. Shammah son of Agee did the same. Why? What drives men to do things that scare others. I think Jonathan answered this question the best when he and his armor bearer decided to go and fight the Philistines by themselves (1 Samuel 14:6 NIV), "Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few." It is the confidence we get from God being with us that enables us to do scary things.

So today I decided to do something scary. After having a beard for eight years I decided to shave it. This is certainly not as impressive as taking on a army or a lion by myself, but it was something that scared me. I've been in a rut for some time and needed to do something different. Shaving my beard will, at least until it grows back, serve as a reminder that I can't keep being the same person. I have to grow and change. And sometimes growth requires doing something scary. It will remind me who I belong to. We have to be in the habit of doing scary things, so that when God needs us to do something big we are confident and willing to go out on a limb. David's confidence to take on Goliath came from the success God gave him, when he took on a lion and a bear.

1 Samuel 17:32-37 NIV David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

If he had shrunk back against the lion or against the bear chances are he wouldn't have had the bravery to fight Goliath. If we want to be used by God we have to do things that scare us. Tomorrow I'll be sharing my faith with someone that I am scared to. Who can you share with? What scares you? What can you do tomorrow that will build your confidence and bravery in God?