Review: In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars by Mark Batterson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I remember first hearing of this book back when I was in college from a friend saying I should read it. When I learned that it was being rereleased and updated this year and saw that I had an opportunity to request a copy to review, I figured it was time that read it. Overall, I'd say the book isn't too bad. There are parts that I really like, and there are parts that I don't. The main premise of the book is centered around Benaiah and 1 Chronicles 11.22ff, specifically utilizing the account found here of Benaiah chasing a lion into a pit on a snowy day and killing it (hence the title of the book). From here, Batterson's message centers around facing opportunities in front of us (that often appear as lions) as Benaiah would, head on and fully abandoned.

For the parts that I really like, I love Batterson's encouragement for people to take more risk in their lives. Here in America, we as Christians play life too safe often times. We settle for the status quo, we allow culture to tame us down, and we often times (as Batterson believes) miss out on some of the great things that God has planned and wants to do in/through us. In terms of what I didn't care for as much, there are many times in this book that I feel Batterson will 'take a little liberty' with a passage of Scripture. I'm not saying this in terms of him blatantly misusing Scripture, but there are many of this conclusions on passages that seem a little forced (or at the very least those aren't the likely first/only conclusion that a person would derive from a text.)

Overall I think the message of this book is nothing new, but (as is the case with a lot of things) still needs to be heard and shared today. I encourage you to read this book if you are debating about a major life/ministry/etc. change. It might not necessarily give you answers to your questions, but it does provide helpful encouragement to pursue God and take risks, pursuing what He's calling you to.

Mark Batterson has a writing style that is highly engaging and very easy to read/follow. I haven't read any of the his other books, but I do look forward to checking them out (I currently own All In, Circle Maker, and The Grave Robber).

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