No Guts, No Glory

April 6, 2020

 

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Most people believe God is real, but few people actually live like it. The result is a widening gap between their theology and their reality. They allow their circumstances to get between them and God instead of letting God get between them and their circumstances. Lion chasers measure everything against almighty God, including five-hundred-pound lions. That’s the difference between being a scaredy-cat and a lion chaser.

When everything is said and done, God isn’t going to say, “Well said,” “Well thought,” or “Well planned.” There is one measuring stick: “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Faithfulness is not holding down the fort.

Faithfulness is chasing five-hundred-pound lions.

There is a brand of religiosity that seems satisfied with breaking even—don’t do this, don’t do that, and you’ll be okay. The problem with that is this: you can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right. Breaking even is breaking bad. God has called us to play offense with our lives. Those who simply run away from what’s wrong will never amount to more than half Christians. The only way to tap your God-given potential, to fulfill your God-ordained destiny is to chase five-hundred-pound lions.

God’s dream for your life is so much bigger, so much better than breaking even. If you focus on not making mistakes, you won’t make a difference. You don’t overcome sin by focusing on not sinning. You need a dream that is bigger and better than the temptations you’re trying to overcome. You need a dream that doesn’t allow you to become spiritually sidetracked, a dream that demands your utmost for His highest.

There is an old aphorism: No guts, no glory. When we lack the guts to go after five-hundred-pound lions, we rob God of the glory He deserves. By definition, a God-sized dream will be beyond your ability, beyond your resources. Unless God does it, it can’t be done! And that is precisely how God gets the glory. He does things we can’t do so we can’t take credit for them. God honors big dreams because big dreams honor God.

Destiny is not a mystery. Destiny is a decision—a difficult decision, a daring decision, a counterintuitive decision. You fulfill your destiny one opportunity at a time. Of course, those opportunities often come disguised as five-hundred-pound problems. Landing in a pit with a lion on a snowy day qualifies as a bad day, a bad break. But Benaiah didn’t see it as bad luck; he saw it as his big break.

If you’re looking for an excuse, you’ll always find one.

If you’re looking for an opportunity, you’ll always find one.

Lion chasers have an eye for opportunity. There are amazing opportunities all around us all the time, but you have to see them to seize them.

Mark Batterson

Mark Batterson

Mark Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC. NCC also owns and operates Ebenezers Coffeehouse, The Miracle Theatre, and the DC Dream Center. Mark holds a doctor of ministry degree from Regent University and is the New York Times bestselling author of 17 books, including The Circle Maker, Chase the Lion, and Whisper. Mark and his wife, Lora, have three children and live on Capitol Hill.

4 Comments

  1. Jan Smith on April 6, 2020 at 11:05 am

    Reading for the 2nd time In A Pit with a Lion on a Snowy day also read Circle Maker and Chase the Lion LOVE them they along with other studies Dani Johnson is changing this now 69 year old lion chasing woman of God.

    During these what seems to be so dark I know this BIG GOD who will bring miracles and more miracles like never seen before during this I pray most Holy Week
    Thank you
    Blessings
    Jan Smith
    Valentine NE

    • Ava Kate on September 20, 2020 at 7:55 pm

      Love your passion and enthusiasm Jan!

  2. Chinasa Edache on April 7, 2020 at 7:13 am

    I am so blessed by the book ‘Chase the Lion’.
    God bless you. You should come to Nigeria🧐

  3. Michael Amia on April 18, 2020 at 6:25 am

    Mark, I am a business in Namibia ( Africa ) and I am reading your book Double Blessing and learning a lot
    from you. Mark , pray for me my family and our business.

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