I am not a huge fan of taking risks. I would much rather hide in the safety of my bedroom and my books reading about others having crazy adventures than face the fear and anxiety of experiencing them myself. While I may be one of the only people in the world that prefers books to adventures, I know I am not the only person afraid of taking risks.
Risk (n): exposure to the chance of injury or loss; a hazard or dangerous chance.
The reason why we are so reluctant to take risks is right there in the definition. Risk involves opening ourselves to the chance of experiencing a loss. That loss paralyzes us with fear of the unknown. That is terrifying for many people, so instead of taking that chance we settle for what is easy. Safe. Comfortable. We don’t tell that special person we love them, we don’t take that new job opportunity, we don’t speak up when we don’t agree with something, we don’t travel to another country. We are content to stay stuck in the safety of the rut we have created for ourselves.
But that isn’t what we were made for.
That isn’t what God called us to do with our lives.
He wants us to be willing to take risks for Him. Being a Christian isn’t about living a comfortable life. God isn’t some genie we can call on to fix whatever is going wrong in our lives and then ignore Him the rest of the time. There is no place in the Bible that says our lives are supposed to be easy or safe. He calls us to take risks, to take a leap of faith into unchartered territory. He does not call us to run and hide.
Ephesians 5: 15-16 NET
“Therefore be very careful how you live—not as unwise but as wise, taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
God opens doors to opportunities that He wants us to take advantage of, but He doesn’t force us to take those chances. It is our choice. Too often, we run the other direction.
We make excuses about being unqualified, unprepared, and being too busy to do what God has called us to do. In reality, we are just scared. We are scared of being rejected, of messing up, of what other people will think.
The Bible is filled with stories of people thinking they were unqualified or too busy to do what God was calling them to do, but each time God provided.
You don’t have to have your life together to do what God has called you to do.
He doesn’t care if you’re qualified, in fact He specializes in using the unqualified. He only cares if you’re willing to take a risk and step out on faith for Him.
