Tags
2 Samuel 23, Benaiah, Book Review, Chase the Lion, Christian, Lion Chasers, Mark Batterson, Multnomah
Title: Chase the Lion: If Your Dream Doesn’t Scare You, It’s Too Small
Author: Mark Batterson
- Mark Batterson on Facebook
- Mark Batterson on Twitter
- Mark Batterson on Instagram
- More Info
- Author Bio
Published by: Multnomah (September 6, 2016)
Pages: 224 (Hardcover)
Blurb: Run TO the Roar!
When the image of a man-eating beast travels through the optic nerve and into the visual cortex, the brain sends the body a simple but urgent message: run away! That’s what normal people do, but not lion chasers. Rather than seeing a five hundred pound problem, they see an opportunity for God to show up and show His power..
Chase the Lion is more than a catch phrase; it’s a radically different approach to life. It’s only when we stop fearing failure that we can fully seize opportunity by the mane. With grit and gusto, New York Times bestselling author Mark Batterson delivers a bold message to everyone with a big dream.
Quit playing it safe and start running towards the roar!
This is a wake-up call to stop living as if the purpose was to simply arrive safely at death. Our dreams should scare us. They should be so big that without God they are impossible to achieve. Quit running away from what you’re afraid of.
Chase the lion!
Change the world!
What is Your Five Hundred Pound Dream?
In this highly anticipated sequel to his best-selling In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, Mark Batterson invites lion chasers everywhere to chase dreams so impossible that victory demands we face our fears, defy the odds, and hold tight to God.
These are the kind of dreams that will make you a bigger person and the world a better place.
Based upon II Samuel 23, Chase the Lion tells the true story of an ancient warrior named Benaiah who chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day—and then killed it. For most people, that situation wouldn’t just be a problem…it would be the last problem they ever faced. For Benaiah, it was an opportunity to step into his destiny. After defeating the lion, he landed his dream job as King David’s bodyguard and eventually became Commander-in-Chief of Israel’s army under King Solomon.
Written in a way that both challenges and encourages, this revolutionary book will help unleash the faith and courage you need to identify, chase, and catch the five hundred pound dreams in your life.
My Take: This book is a follow-up to a book I’ve wanted to read for some time, In A Lion’s Pit on a Snowy Day, and reading this book has amplified that desire tenfold. I loved so much within this book and, after only three chapters, had to proclaim that this might be one of the best books I’ve read this year. The other 17 chapters didn’t disappoint, and this was easily a book that will leave a mark on my life.
Batterson uses the 37 mighty warriors of King David mentioned in the Bible, beginning with Benaiah and shifting to using some of the others as equal measures of inspiration (See 2 Samuel 23:8-39) over the course of this book. I could envision the scenes playing out of facing down a 500-pound lion in a pit on a snowy day, fighting until your hand froze to a sword, and killing 800 men in one encounter. The deeds mentioned are noteworthy and inspiring, and Batterson uses them well to springboard into ways we can have the same courage in our own lives. These men accomplished things that were bigger than a normal person would dare to dream. If we allow our own power and ability to be the limits of our dreams, we’ll never leave room for God to step in and help fulfill those dreams.
One of the most powerful ideas passed along in this book is the idea of dreams being for the third and fourth generation. Sometimes our dreams will never be fulfilled by us, nor even in our lifetime. But it may be setting the things in place for that future generation to accomplish those massive dreams. In fact, he goes so far as to argue that we may even be fulfilling the dreams that someone had years ago and not even realize it.
The other thing Batterson mentioned in here that has resonated with me is having a verse for your life. His is 2 Samuel 23:20, the verse about Benaiah and the lion. This has me searching for my own life’s verse and dreaming grand dreams. While I don’t know what the 500-pound lion is that I will be chasing, I do know that I am determined to become a lion chaser after reading this book. If you want to be challenged to dream bigger, do more, and have a stronger faith, this book is the perfect read for you.
**Note: I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.
Author David Wiley 