“He [Benaiah] also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day” (II Samuel 23:20).

The account in Scripture is brief. Only one sentence is used to depict the powerful demonstration of courage displayed, and yet it is the type of story out of which legends are formed. Benaiah, one of David’s mighty men, chose to battle the fiercest of foes on the most extraordinary of battlefields—in a pit on a snowy day. It begs the question why? What would possess someone to go toe-to-toe with the likes of a lion? We can assume that Benaiah decided to play offense against this potential threat rather than allowing it the opportunity to disrupt his future by preying on things that were most valuable to him.

While most of us will never engage in such a battle with a physical beast, we must each ask ourselves how to defeat the internal lions that seek to defeat us—lions such as fear, temptation, unforgiveness, apathy, and impatience. If these lions are left unchecked in our lives, they can become threats to our ability to fulfill our destiny. As each battle brings us one step closer to victory, we must decide that our future, our calling, our family, and our ministry are worth the fight. And day by day, as we defeat each lion, we grow closer to achieving the plans God has in store for us.

The stage is set. Get ready to battle the beast.