Chase the Lion by Mark Batterson
Who is it for?
- Anyone looking for a sense of purpose.
- Someone looking for the next step.
- Anyone who needs that reminder that God shapes our dreams, so go forth in boldness (as long as you're following Him.
- Anyone who could use a healthy dose of faith-building encouragement.
"Some people die long before their heart stops beating."
That's one quote from Mark Batterson's Chase the Lion that I won't soon forget. The book is full of great, eye-opening statements just like that. Statements that might make you want to jump out of your seat and conquer something, anything. Statements just like the main verse that serves as the basis for the entire book: "He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen." (2 Samuel 23:20)
How about that?
It's a throwaway verse (if there can be such a thing) that I've never paid a lot of attention to further than, "Well that guy did a thing I certainly can't do."
In many ways, that's the opposite journey that Batterson wants you to take through his book. His book is designed to empower you and inspire you do chase your own 500-pound lion.
Probably not a literal lion, I wouldn't recommend that.
But are there things in your life that need you to put on a brave face and conquer?
A Dream Disclaimer
Throughout the book, Batterson encourages you to dream big, and the trust God and chase that dream. He posits that God created us to be dreamers, and we can best honor Him when we out-dream our capabilities and rely on Him alone.
Now, full disclosure: I almost put this book down in the opening chapters because of all the dream-talk. At first, it seemed like we were building to a dangerous conclusion. My fear was that the book would claim that as long as we dream in God’s name, He’ll make our dreams come true, because what He wants most is for our dreams to come true.
That’s a lie, for the record.
What God wants most is for His name to be exalted, and His name is most exalted by the fulfilling of His redemptive plan through the salvation from Jesus bought on the cross.
Me-centric theology isn’t theology at all. So here’s my warning before we go one: avoid “me-all-ogy” and deepen your own theology.
It’s all about God. It’s all about Jesus.
Anyway. Now that I’ve got that out of the way, let’s move on.
I’m glad I kept reading, because Batterson does bring everything home to that point. If I were to nitpick a single point of the book, it might be that he took a long route to make the safe point. In a world where most people only read the first few chapters of a book, it can be dangerous to save the meat for later.
What Can You Conquer?
One of the biggest themes and takeaways from the book, at least for me, is to not disqualify something just because I can’t see how it will work.
It would’ve been easy for Benaiah to disqualify himself from the task of slaying the lion—like seriously, who can do that? But he trusted the God who made the lion and is stronger than the lion, and Benaiah chased the cat and came up victorious.
When you look at your life and your dreams and your goals, what do you disqualify before you even give it a chance? If something is on your heart: go for it. It might be just the thing that God has been preparing you for.
“God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called.”
Remember that. You see it time and again throughout Scripture. God doesn’t make a habit of choosing the most fit for the occasion. He makes the occasion and equips a person to fit it. That’s an important distinction.
Are you made for bigger things?
Bolster Your Faith
One pleasantly unexpected element of Chase the Lion is the amount of faith-building stories that Batterson weaves throughout the book.
From holocaust survivors to Congo missionaries to church planters and just about everything in-between, there are plenty of stories that will remind you of God’s faithfulness and desire to overcome mortal hurdles.
“Faith is taking the first step before God reveals the second step.”
I love that definition of faith. It’s knowing that when our hearts align with God’s, we can confidently step out in faith without knowing all the details.
That’s easier said than done for sure. I’m not wired for that kind of thing.
I like to know the plan. And I like to know that there was a solid plan to come up with the plan. And we should probably have a planning meeting to discuss how to best execute the plan.
Is plan even a word anymore?
Anyway, God doesn’t always work that way, at least in how He reveals His plan to us. Sometimes He gives us step one, and we just need to step out into the waves in faith there will be a step two.
Chase the Lion is full of reminders to live that way. To live dangerously.
Don’t let fears and doubts get in the way. Don’t let what looks like a lion get in the way of God’s plan for you. The Lion of Judah is bigger and stronger than any lion we’ll face today.
It’s time to live like it and chase the lion.
