Are You A Risk Taker?

Dear Friends,


I don't like taking risks.  That's why you'll never see me take up the challenge to bungee jump.  On the few occasions I've been dragged along to a theme park I'm the one to volunteer to hold coats and belongings whilst others go on a "thrilling" ride!  Going on a ride that takes you high above the ground, turns you upside down and round and round all at high speed is not my idea of fun!  I'd far rather keep my feet on firm ground and stay the right way up.

Yet, when it comes to our faith and journey with God, I believe he is pleased when we take risks.  There are many accounts in the Bible of those who took risks for their faith.

Noah built an ark because God told him there was going to be a flood.  Ruth left everything she knew to begin a new life with Naomi in Bethlehem.  David faced and overcame the giant, Goliath.  Esther risked her life to stand before the King and save her people.  Jesus' disciples left their work and their home to follow Jesus.  These are just a few of the many examples of men and women in the Bible who were risk takers.

Each of them took risks, but they were calculated risks.  Calculated risks because they knew God, they had a relationship with him, they had faith in him and his Word and they were willing to be obedient to him and take the risk.  All the while trusting him for the outcome.

The Bible tells us that "without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him."  Hebrews 11:6 (AMP)

Earlier in that same chapter we are told what faith is: "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see."  Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

I can look back over my life and see where I've taken risks because of my faith in God.  In fact, I'm doing it right now in this new season of my life.  What is it that enables me to take a risk when I'm not naturally a risk taker?  It's believing God's promises, knowing that he is directing and leading me and trusting him for the outcome.  It's an exciting time as I move out of my comfort zone, but at the same time it's also scary.

I can easily start to have doubts and fears about what I'm doing, and the devil is so quick to jump on these and whisper in my ear.  I listen to him and start to believe the lies, fears and doubts he is spreading in my mind.  Things like:  "I'm not capable."  "I'll fail."  "They only agreed to have me on their team because they're desperate."  "I'll never manage, my health will get worse and I'll let them down."  "They'll regret choosing me."  "I'm making a mistake, I didn't hear God right, I misunderstood him."  And so on.  Ever had those kinds of lies running riot in your mind?

Now I know where these thoughts and feelings are coming from.  I know they're not from God.  I know they're from the devil who wants to stop me being a risk taker. He doesn't want my faith and relationship with God to grow.  He wants to keep me where I am, to immobilise me, to keep me confined to what is, rather than what can be.

So, if I know all this, why do I listen to him?  It comes down to choice - I'm choosing to listen and believe him.  If it's a choice, then I can choose not to listen to him.  But how do I do this?

The moment I recognise where my thoughts are coming from, I need to make the choice to reject them as lies and tactics of the devil.  That's a start, but it's not enough.  Next I need to choose to believe what God says is true.  I need to focus on him.  I need to keep close to him, placing my trust and my life in his hands. 

I need to remind myself that I may not be able in my own strength, but when God calls me to something he will equip and enable me, that his strength is in my weakness, that he has promised to never leave me on my own, that he is totally dependable and that he has a plan for me which is good.  Knowing these things makes the risk worth while.

To Think About:
What is it that stops you from taking risks in your faith?

Rather than paying attention to what the devil wants you to believe, listen to what God is saying to you.  What do you know about God and his Word that encourages you to take risks?

Do you sense that God is asking you to take a risk?  Whose voice will you choose to listen to?  How are you going to respond?

Vicki

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts

Do You Know You Are God's Prized Possession?

Dear Friends, Do you know that God considers you his prized possession? Maybe you find that hard to believe. You may think that because of what you've done or what's been done to you that you are not special, that you are not worth much. You may have a negative self-image and you may compare yourself with others and believe they are so much better than you. But the truth is that you are so much more than what you think you are. How do I know that? Because that's what the Bible tells me and if I want to know the truth about God and myself I go to the Bible. It's there I learn that being prized by God means that I am treasured, valued, cherished and much loved by him. At the moment I'm reading the book of James, and rather than rush through it I'm taking my time so that I can really feed on it and digest it. It's taken me most of the week to read the first chapter, but it's been a good investment of my time. It's why today I'm writing about...
Read more

When Life Doesn't Go According To Plan

Image
Dear Friends, I guess at one point or another in your life, things did not go as you had planned, dreamed or hoped for.  I've certainly experienced that and it took a long time for me to come to terms with this. I grew up in a Christian home where I was taught how to have a personal relationship with God and how to seek his will and direction in all I did. Believing that God wanted me to be a Primary School Teacher I applied to University and with God's guidance I chose the one that was right for me.  Those four years at university were tough and more than once I wanted to give up and go home.  But believing I was where God wanted me to be, gave me the endurance I needed to keep going.  At the time my plan for my life was to become a teacher and I firmly believed that was God's plan for me too. In my prayers I asked God to direct me to the teaching post he had for me.  I never doubted that I wouldn't get a job as a teacher.  When no job was offered...
Read more

You Are The Apple of God's Eye

Image
Dear Friends,  When I was a child we would sing a song about having a great, big, wonderful God  who never leaves us and who is ready to catch us when we stumble because we are  the apple of his eye. I used to enjoy singing it and although I never fully understood what it really meant to be  the apple of God's eye, I knew it was connected to God loving me. If you are a similar age to me and grew up in church, you may be familiar with this song too. At the time I never realised that the phrase "the apple of God's eye" came from the Bible. But I was reminded of this song a few weeks ago when I read the following verse in the Bible: Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 17:8  (NIV) The idea of being the apple of God's eye has been on my mind since then, so I decided I wanted to know more about what it means to be the apple of God's eye.  Here's what I learned: The phrase "apple of the eye...
Read more

You are God's Favourite

Image
Dear Friends, I love my children and will sometimes say to them "You are my favourite son/daughter."  The response I usually get from them is a groan or rolling of the eyes and "Mu-um, I'm your only son/daughter."  I tell them, "Yes, but you're still my favourite!"  It's my way of letting them know how much I love them, how precious, how special they are to me.  For me, it's a picture of how I believe God loves each one of us.  He loves me in such a way that he says to me, "You're my favourite!"  And I believe he loves you in such a way too and says "You're my favourite!". God loves each one of us with an incredible, incomparable, unconditional love.  A love that goes beyond the ordinary.  A love that is pure and selfless.  A genuine love.  A love that is beyond our understanding.  He loves us each individually and considers us all his favourite. I love words and I love the word used to describe how Go...
Read more

The Apprentice Prayer

Image
Dear Friends, I receive devotional emails from the website "Soul Shepherding".  In one of the emails several months ago Bill Gaultiere shared  "The Apprentice Prayer". I have printed it out and placed it in my journal so I can refer back to it and pray it again.  This is the Apprentice Prayer:  Jesus, I love you! Father, I adore you! Holy Spirit, I rely on you! Lord Jesus, I seek to live as your apprentice in all that I do today. My life is your school for teaching me. I relinquish my agenda for this day and I submit myself to you and your kingdom purposes. In all situations I abandon outcomes to you, praying, “Your will, your way, your time.” Dear Father, I ask you to ordain the events of this day and use them to make me more like Jesus. I trust you, Sovereign Lord, that you won’t let anything happen to my family or me today, except that it passes through your loving hands. So no matter what problems, hards...
Read more

"God Is Taking Everything Away From Me"

Dear Friends, When I was first diagnosed with M.E (M yalgic Encephalomyelitis)  in the late 1990s I really struggled to come to terms with it. I can remember in the early years and when it was at its worst saying that God was taking everything away from me. This was truly how I felt, and the hurt and the pain from what I was losing was intense. It's a pain which actually cannot fully be put into words. Not only had I lost my health and strength, I had to give up work and I wasn't able to do the things I'd been doing at church, such as leading Sunday School and running a youth group with my husband. Jason and I had married in the Summer of 1995 and the illness meant I wasn't able to do all I wanted to do in the home or to be the kind of wife I wanted to be for Jason and I wasn't able to socialise (for me that meant not going to church and mixing with church friends). It really felt like God was taking everything away from me and like I said, it was extremely pa...
Read more

The Blessing Of Pain

Dear Friends, I’ve been thinking about pain quite a bit this past week, probably because I’m in the midst of it at the moment!   My close friends and family know that I have been to the National Migraine Clinic (NMC) in London.   Before they can treat the migraines I need to take a 12 week break from all my painkillers.   This is proving difficult as I also rely on painkillers most days to manage & tolerate the muscle pain caused by M.E.   The leg pain in particular has been almost unbearable, sitting, laying on the sofa, in bed, heat treatment, massage mat; none of these things have provided me with much relief. We all experience pain in our lives, the cause of it will be different, the intensity of it varies, but pain is still pain and it hurts!   I don’t enjoy pain and I don’t seek it out, however, God is teaching me that there is blessing in pain.   It’s my experience of this that I want to share with you today that you may be encourag...
Read more

The Teacup Story

Image
If you would like to listen to this devotional please click  here Dear Friends, The Potter's Wheel A couple of weeks back I was reminded about a story I had read a few years ago. It's called "The Teacup Story" but before I share it with you, let's go to the Bible. Jeremiah was one of God's prophets in the Old Testament. He was called by God to pass messages on to God's people. In Jeremiah 18:1-6  we read about an object lesson God gave to Jeremiah and which is still relevant for us today: God told Jeremiah, “Up on your feet! Go to the potter’s house. When you get there, I’ll tell you what I have to say.” So I went to the potter’s house, and sure enough, the potter was there, working away at his wheel. Whenever the pot the potter was working on turned out badly, as sometimes happens when you are working with clay, the potter would simply start over and use the same clay to make another pot. Then God’s Message came to me: “Can’...
Read more

Set Your Sights on the Realities of Heaven

Image
Dear Friends, Paul wrote in Colossians 3:1-3 "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God’s right hand. 2  Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3  For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God." (NLT) I read these verses one morning when I was in the middle of a bad spell of migraines.  The spell lasted for ten days.  Some of the days were extremely painful when I just couldn't function normally, some were more bearable and I could live with the pain and some days I woke free from the pain and hoped for a pain-free day only for the migraine to develop later in the day.  I know that some of you reading this will have experienced pain much worse than this.  You may be going through something right now which is almost unbearable.  Whatever that painful experience may...
Read more

Living The "Zoe" Life

Image
Dear Friends, Do you ever find yourself wrestling over a verse or passage of Scripture? Perhaps because it's hard to understand or grasp. Or perhaps it doesn't fit with your experience. For some months, possiby years, there has been one verse which I've wrestled with. It's this one from John 10:10b Where Jesus says, "My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." (NLT). Other translations use words such as an abundant life, life in all it's fullness, enjoy life to the full, everything they need. What is this kind of life that Jesus is talking about? Is it really possible to experience it ourselves? I want to share with you the place I'm at right now in my journey of understanding. We will never fully understand all that the Bible has to teach us and sometimes we (I) will get it wrong. You may very well disagree with how I am interpreting what I read. But if it causes any of us to go back to the Bible and ask the Holy S...
Read more