“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1
We all have the moments when God asks us to do something far from our comfort zone, to step out and trust Him and take a risk. There are no guarantees in the outcome, only in God’s promise that He Himself will always be there. And there are too many ‘what if’s?’ to count. What if I don’t have the finances? What if I fail? What if I’m miserable? What if I’m not accepted? What if it doesn’t turn out the way I planned? What if I heard God wrong?
We could sit here all day and list reasons, many legitimate, why the decision to obey God should be scrapped or postponed.
But I would ask you, ‘why not?’ What do you have to lose? What if the step of obedience becomes the best thing that ever happened to you? What if you’re successful? What if you make lifelong friends? What if you experience God in such a powerful way you are transformed for the rest of your life?
If you don’t take the risk, you will never know the answer.
God invites His children to take risks.
Faith isn’t about only believing in the mind but living in such a way that people can see you believe; that’s the Hebrew way of thinking. The Hebrew way says ‘watch me and you will know what I believe.’ The Greek way says ‘I’ll tell you what I believe.’ One requires action, the other only words.
To have faith is to believe that God is who He says He is and live as though it’s true, to put all our marbles in one basket.
Let’s look at a few Bible stories.
God asked Abraham to kill his only son through whom the promise was meant to come.
God told Moses to lead the Israelites up to the edge of the Red Sea with an Egyptian army pursuing them.
God told Noah to build an ark to outlast a flood, even though it had never rained before.
God told the churches of the New Testament to continue to follow Him, despite heavy persecution.
God’s first priority is not to keep you safe and comfortable. Following God has no guarantees. There are no guarantees of safety, money, friends or success, but there is a guarantee of God Himself. Jesus said ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’
God is waiting to reveal Himself to those who are seeking. He is longing to pour Himself out on His children, but we have to ask for it. We have to be willing to obey Him and give up things holding us back from a deeper relationship with Him.
Don’t live with regret
One of the most common regrets of older people is not taking risks and living their dreams. So many realize experiences are worth so much more than material things.
So, don’t look back 20, 40 or even 60 years down the road and wish you would have taken the risk and followed God, but backed out because of fear, doubt or what others were saying.
Live your life! Live it with God. Take time to explore your relationship with Him and dare to obey Him and take a risk, you never know what could happen.
I’ve never met anyone who regrets taking a risk with God.
Laurinda is a missionary at Youth with a Mission in Brisbane where she leads a discipleship program for young adults. On her day off you can find her hiking up a mountain or swinging in a hammock.
Laurinda Rapp’s previous articles may be viewed at