In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars by Mark Batterson (2006)

Motivational and self-help books—even from a Christian perspective—are absolutely not my norm. But I came across this book as a Kindle freebie at a time when I needed something fresh for my bus rides, so I gave it a shot.

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The Topical Sermons That Became In a Pit with a Lion

Truth be told, 2Samuel 23:20 has always filled me with a sense of romantic wonder, particularly from reading it in the KJV as a teen:

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow.

It’s that same wonder that spurred Pastor Mark Batterson to create an entire sermon series and then book on the topic of valiantly chasing lions (opportunities) for God’s glory.

Now I must emphasize immediately that I do not condone this method of sermon prep, to take a totally descriptive passage from an historical book and draw from it 8-10 sermons and spiritual applications, simply because “it’s in the Bible.” This is a recipe for opinion slinging and, eventually, false doctrine. I would never feel comfortable in a church or under a pastor that “preaches” this way.

With a book that I could put down at any moment, however, I found that Batterson provides enough Christ-focused emphases to warrant my continuing to read. For example, he encourages us to spend more time in the Word, because:

When we read Scripture, our brains are rewired in alignment with the Word, and we develop the mind of Christ. (50)

A Christian Motivational Self-Help Book

Still, the book is overall a motivational self-help book for Christians filled with too much pop psychology and too few Bible references. It’s absolutely littered with one-liners (thanks in part to his chapter summaries), and I get a feeling that Batterson’s got a marketing background. Take these two as for-examples:

Lion chasers thrive in the toughest circumstances because they know that impossible odds set the stage for amazing miracles. (34)

You don’t have to get it right the first time, but you do have to start somewhere. A dream becomes reality one opportunity at a time. (127)

Lessons Taught and Lessons Learned

Before sharing some red flags from this book, I wanted to focus on a few of Batterson’s thoughts really struck me as I read. I’ll list a few here with brief commentary on the topics of boredom, prayer, and faith.

First, this one hit me hard because of the “ruts” I sometimes discover in my life, despite my constant movements and lack of normalcy in ministry:

If you’re bored, one thing is for sure: You’re not following in the footsteps of Christ. At some point in your life you have to make a choice between fear and boredom. Lion chasers choose fear. (50)

Second, this emphasis on prayer was quite convicting. I fear I’ve modeled to my kids more prayer for “a good day” than for God to develop character within us. Why? Because I genuinely want to have an easy day more than I want to grow through trials and stress! That’s normal, sure, but it’s not very godly.

Many of our prayers are misguided. We pray for comfort instead of character. We pray for an easy way out instead of the strength to make it through. We pray for no pain, when the result would be no gain. We pray that God will keep us out of pits and away from lions. But if God answered our prayer, it would rob us of our greatest opportunities. (55)

He also says of prayer:

Prayer is less about changing our circumstances and more about changing our perspective. (68)

Third, Batterson provides a much clearer description of faith than I’ve seen elsewhere—an angle that truly contains “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

So if life is infinitely uncertain and God is infinitely complex, then all we can do is accept our finitude and embrace uncertainty. I think many people have the mistaken notion that faith reduces uncertainty. Nothing could be further from the truth. Faith doesn’t reduce uncertainty. Faith embraces uncertainty. (74) … Following Christ reduces spiritual uncertainty, but it doesn’t reduce circumstantial uncertainty….Some of your experiences won’t make sense this side of eternity, but lion chasers know that God is connecting the dots in ways they can’t comprehend. (87)

Two Annoying Sidebars

To get critical, I must mention two things about this book that really turned me off—the way Batterson speaks so tritely of God, and his overemphasis on anointing.

First, does it irk anyone else when preachers tritely describe God as being in such-and-such a business, as if He’s a man or some spiritual tycoon? My pastor growing up always told us, “God’s in the soul-saving business!” I get the sentiment, but I hate the delivery.

Mark Batterson does this multiple times in the book, telling his readers:

God is in the resume-building business (Chapter 1)

God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time. (17)

God is in the business of recycling our pain and using it for someone else’s gain. (68)

God is in the business of using those experiences to prepare us for future opportunities. (Chapter 5)

God is in the business of making sure we cross paths with the right people at the right time. (Chapter 7)

God is Almighty God—holy, omnipotent, omniscient, and righteous. He’s not “in business” and He’s not here to serve me or to help build my resume (for crying out loud). To describe Him so often as a supernatural app or life-hack is offensive and borderline blasphemous.

Second, Batterson really hammers the idea of anointing late in the book, making me wonder if I’ve been swimming in charismatic waters all this time. About the exponential growth of his mega-church system and coffee shops and the surprising sales of his books, he writes:

We sometimes shy away from this promise of multiplication because of the false promises of health, wealth, and prosperity. But when we do, we forfeit the miracles of multiplication that God wants to do in our lives…I don’t believe in the prosperity gospel, but I don’t believe in the poverty gospel either. I believe in the gospel, and the hero is Jesus. If we try to appropriate the anointing of God for selfish purposes, we’re doomed to fail. God won’t share His glory! But He will reveal His glory if we play by His rules for His glory! … Whatever God blesses, multiplies. Whatever God anoints, multiplies. (154)

In his brilliant book The Anointing, R. T. Kendall makes a profound observation: A person who had a tremendous anointing yesterday can continue to see the momentum of that anointing continuing to manifest itself. He or she may hastily conclude that “the anointing is still with us” when it is but the momentum of yesterday’s anointing. Yesterday’s anointing isn’t enough for today’s challenges. (155)

I don’t get this infatuation with anointing (and, by implication, an “outpouring” or “baptism” of the Spirit) among people who are supposedly already indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. Is His presence in my life not enough?

Certainly, I believe we Christians must actively choose not only to be indwelt by the Spirit but filled by Him as well (Eph 5:18), but again, this is an internal happening. It’s not something that occurs externally from the Spirit in the room but internally through the Spirit in my heart. But I suppose, when you view God as a businessman and His Spirit as a tool, you’re also going to treat Him inevitably as something that can be manipulated for your own desires, as long as you add #forHisGlory

Conclusion

Portions of this book got me thinking about my prayer life, my faith, and my actions/inactions. For that I’m grateful.

I’m pretty certain, however, that Mark Batterson is from a different theological vein from me, and I would not enjoy sitting under his preaching or reading more of his books. There’s far too much emphasis on Self and success here, and an overarching theology of God that’s feels skewed and broken. There’s just too much gravel and not enough gems.

©2026 E.T.

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