Why 'taking a risk for
God' often means opening our eyes to confront the uncomfortable realities right
where we are.
A great think-piece from Kris
Beckert. As we settle down from the maniacal beginnings of 21st millennium
Christianity, something to think about is how close our walk with God really
is. What are we doing with our lives and why? This is the big question we
should ask especially for those chasing relevance, or perhaps fame, all the while doing it for the glory of The
Lord.
“What are we willing to risk for God, and what are we doing about it?"
Here's Kris:
I’ve sat in multiple small
group gatherings when that question came up as part of a speaker’s discourse on
a teaching DVD or within the paragraphs of a glossy study guide.
Usually, most of us in the
room, myself included, squirm as we hear stories of missionaries moving to
Africa, folks who gave up careers to move across the country or to take a job
that was beneath their education level, Christian musicians who risked
everything to go on tour with their families or nonprofit founders who ate
Ramen for months on end.
When it comes time for
sharing, we nod our heads about “stepping out of the boat,” to leave everything
behind, to take that big risk for God by going somewhere in the wilderness or
pursue a profession that serves others but doesn’t make much money.
Step, leave, go,
abandon—these are the words we normally associate with risk.
In a society that is
constantly telling us to chase the latest and greatest, what if, more often
than not, the riskier thing to do for God is to stay where you are and keep
doing what you’re doing for the time being?
And we shouldn’t be
surprised—it’s how we’re taught. Risk-taking is a big deal—and a big
industry—in our society. Skydiving, free-climbing, wilderness hiking,
whitewater rafting, obstacle course racing, alpine skiing—the list of
activities goes on and on. There’s a pride and honor that comes with going
somewhere or doing something “out there”—even if your adventure is tethered to
steel beams or conducted through a travel agent.
Posting a selfie on top of
a mountain or falling out of the sky solicits a lot of attention. Participation
in these kinds of “safe” risks enables us to feel alive, bold and
accomplished—without actually having to put too much on the line. We “go” to
say we’ve gone. There’s admiration that comes along with it. And many of us in
Christian circles come to applaud “risk-taking for God” in the same way.
But in a society that is
constantly telling us to chase the latest and greatest and change ourselves
with the seasons, what if, more often than not, the riskier thing to do for God
is to stay exactly where you are and keep doing what you’re doing for the time
being? What if instead of jumping from here to there, thinking God will do a
miracle when we’ve chosen the right thing, person or place, we should really be
standing firm? What if we should be allowing our feet to sink in a while and
keep at the hard, dirty, messy work in which we’re involved? In the words of
Ecclesiastes 11:6, “Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will
grow—perhaps it all will.”
What if God wants you to
start a ministry where you are instead of going to one? What if it’s actually
more God-honoring to deal with an uncomfortable family situation than moving
away from it? What if instead of leaving this position and that location again
and again to “find ourselves,” we should be staying put? What if instead of
leaving church after church, we should just keep coming to the same one? What
if instead of abandoning all that is ours, we should be continuing to invest
ourselves, our gifts, our resources?
What if “taking a risk for
God” were less about jumping off cliffs and going and more about examining our
motives and opening our eyes to how God might be wanting to use us right where
we are, embracing the uncomfortable in our midst? Maybe God is wanting to use
you as a change-agent in your workplace, as the glue in your neighborhood, as
the light in your social circles and family. It’s possible that quitting your
job or moving your family across the country right now to be “risky for God” is
exactly what God wants you to do, but I think that more often than not, it
could actually be counter to what God wants.
Reflecting on my own
30-something years of life, I can say that the risks I’ve taken to follow God
have come in many forms and actions. I’ve quit a job and moved to another state
to pursue a calling to ministry by going to seminary. I’ve stayed put in a
place during a very difficult time when it would have been easier to go—and now
look back to see the fruit God was bearing. I’ve jumped for the sake of “taking
a risk for God” and found that I was really just following my own desire to be
somebody—and landed flat on my face. I’ve stayed in a place when, looking back,
it was clear God wanted me to move on—but I was too scared to do so. In any
case, God used my decision, my risk, my going and staying, and I learned
something through it, something about myself, something about Him.
Has God revealed to you
any hidden motives? Are you assured that you are already loved and that doing
something “risky for God” is not going to make Him love you more?
So how do you know whether
taking a risk for God means staying or going? In my experience, it helps to
consider a few things:
1. Scripture: Is leaving
it all behind detrimental to the things God holds precious—marriage, promises,
responsibility, etc? Or is fear alone keeping you where you are?
2. History: Did you just
take a risk to go somewhere or do something new last week? Are you running away
from something or someone?
3. Wise Counsel: What are
trusted mentors, teachers, elders, your spouse or best friend saying to you?
Has God revealed to them that the risk He wants you to take is to go, or to
stay?
4. Peace: Can you have
peace where you are or is there peace that comes with making a change? Has God
revealed to you any hidden motives? Are you assured that you are already loved
and that doing something “risky for God” is not going to make Him love you
more?
As I’m reading Scripture,
I see countless stories of men and women whose biggest challenge is not
stepping out to go and follow God but continuing to follow Him. The biggest
risk is often continuing to live in a God-honoring way, day in and day out,
when it doesn’t feel like much of an adventure. It seems that many of us are in
the same boat—where Jesus might be calling us to step out and walk on water,
but He also might want us to just keep paddling.
Source: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/taking-risk-god#Emid0jjD7uL9D8kV.99
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