How much risk is too much?
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Luke 21:16
“You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.”
Jesus words to his disciples don’t sound very motivational, at the end of his ministry he is letting them know that things are not going to be easy, but God’s people have never been called on to take it easy.
We have always been called on to take risk, a life of ease and luxuries are probably not what the Lord has in mind for your life, and yet most of western civilization lives on the premise of staying comfortable and safe.
Why is there such a thing as risk? Because there is such a thing as ignorance. If there were no ignorance there would be no risk. Risk is possible because we don’t know how things will turn out. This means that God can take no risks. It is right to risk for the cause of Christ, and not to do so is to waste your life. -John Piper
Brave men and women of the Bible have been in sticky situations and have left the outcome of their circumstances in the Lord’s hands.
2 Samuel 10:12 Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what is good in his sight.”
Esther 4:15-16 Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”
Daniel 3:16-18 O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.
Acts 21:13 “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, ‘Let the will of the Lord be done’”
In other parts of the world the church lives just like the people in the verses above, but most of us live in a safe, secure life style that looks nothing like God’s people lived in the Bible.
I believe that God is calling us to take risk for him, to step out and do what he calls us to do, something that we could not do on our own without his intervention. Because in risk we can see God’s provision and sustenance, so in leaving the secure safe place and taking risk we are showing God to the rest of the world.
King Xerxes knew more about God and his power after Esther took a risk, King Nebuchadnezzar was sure who the real God is after the Israelites came out of the furnace, if we follow the Lord and go where he leads and take the risk that he calls us to then he gets the glory when we provides.
But what happens when the people of God do not escape from the beguiling enchantment of security? What happens if they try to live their lives in the mirage of safety? The answer is wasted lives. -John Piper
Do you remember the time it happened?
Numbers 13:30-31 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are."
Look at all the wasted lives that wouldn’t trust God and take the risk that they were called to take, thousands of wasted lives and years sitting in the desert instead of the promised land.
This is the promise that empowers us to take risks for the sake of Christ. It is not the impulse of heroism, or the lust for adventure, or the courage of self-reliance, or the need to earn God’s favor. It is simple trust in Christ—that in him God will do everything necessary so that we can enjoy making much of him forever. -John Piper
And now what about you? Are you caught in the enchantment of security, paralyzed from taking any risks for the cause of God?
I must step out by faith and do what the Lord asks me to do, even if it makes me uncomfortable, I must not play it safe.
Help us Lord to prove our faith by following you no matter what the cost.
