On a Snowy Day

On snowy days...when I'm living in a country that actually has snow!...my favorite thing is curl up with a hot cup of coffee and what it fall. The quietness of it stills my soul and I love how beautiful everything looks...provided I don't have to drive in it!

There was one man though that did not stay in comfort on a snowy day. Instead he hunted down a lion and when the lion fell into a pit....this guy went after him. He fought the lion..and won. I know, it sounds like a movie doesn't it?

I've always found that passage of Scripture rather interesting simply because it seemed so random.

I mean really.... why would you do that? (probably why it was a guy doing the chasing....we females are so much smarter than that!) In the bigger scheme of life and ministry was does it matter that some idiot decided to chase a lion into a pit on a snowy day no less…and live to tell the tail?

I mean honestly, how does that really fit in with God, Life and paying the bills? It's so not practical. And for several years during Bible school I honestly wondered why it was important that I know such things. I'm not going to go hunting down a lion...much less follow it into a pit.

Seven years, 25 countries and several hundred people later, I can tell you that verse has pretty much everything to do with God, Life and paying the bills..among many other things.

As we wrap up this week’s Beth Moore chapter on your promised land I wanted to share with you some thoughts I’ve had recently.

As I attempted to point out in the last post; faith is risky business. As you will have observed through your week of study: the goal of faith is not the elimination of risk. Any example of faith given in Scripture required risk, sometimes-great amounts of risk. As a case in point: the parable of the talents. Jesus commended the two men who took a risk with the funds they were entrusted with and made a profit. The guy who buried his funds in the sand and breaks even was condemned as “wicked’.

Why is that? Well I have a theory….first I’d like to state that much about following God in faith means doing things that go against the ‘normal’ grain of doing things. You’ve heard the saying “if it feels good..do it”? Well…in this respect the opposite is often most true because as we set out in faith we are required- through the course of the journey- to do things that don’t make much sense. And connected to that thought comes my theory: that perhaps righteousness and risk are more intertwined than some would think. Perhaps taking a risk is at the heart of righteousness. Perhaps righteousness has less to do with not doing anything wrong and more to do with doing things right. Righteousness is using our God given abilities and gifts to their full potential…not sitting on them. And that requires great risk.

Being vulnerable and real takes risk. It takes a lot of courage to allow people to love you for who you are..warts and all. Especially since we rarely (if ever!) let anyone see our ‘warts’. It takes risk to step up and take on a challenge and allow God to use you. It takes risk to raise a family, to go against pop culture, to be the real you when everyone else around you decides to pretend perfection.
And in the midst of all that risk is great reward. Our lives are made up of the small things, the insignificant decisions or choices or agreements (a whole other post on “the butterfly effect”…) As we’ve seen thus far in our study though – when we are willing to take those risks and step out in faith and confidence in God’s ability and vastness….we reap in return great reward.

Look at your life for a second. What risks are coming your way? Trying something new? Taking on a new responsibility? Loving someone who is difficult to love? Learning more? Growing in a new area? Opening up to those around you?

I would challenge you that whatever the risk, whatever scary thing that you keep trying to avoid…take it to the Lord and ask him, if this is something he is prompting you to do. And if it is *note you probably won’t feel a sudden sense of invincibility, courage, bravery, skill, knowledge or see visions in the sky* go for it. Walk straight into it, shaky legged, heart pounding, palms clammy and all.
You’ll find that as move into that area or task or whatever it may be: though it might not be smooth sailing, you won’t mind the waves so much.

Faith is obediently moving into the Promised Land, facing whatever may come be it lions, snow or angry bosses, and enjoying the awesome rewards that come from braving those elements and enjoying awesome fellowship with God.

2nd Samuel 23:21-22 contains the verse I mentioned above and by way the answer, in case you’re ever asked, is Benniah.