this is long but I hope you read it...I got it from a friend from a Student Leadership Development devotional- it is pulled from In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson (I suggest everyone read it-no joke). Thanks to Scott for putting this together.
The goal of faith is not the elimination of risk. Following after Christ will cost you something.
"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about being safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the king, I tell you."
~ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
I want to believe that God is good--and not at all safe. I want to embrace that in a way that says I can trust a God that big, that unfathomable. I want to be safe with a God who isn't safe--but is good.
However in this world that we live in we have downsized God. We have made him safe. He's neutralized. He's ineffective. And he's not good. He's just ... is. But when we want to be good and want God to be safe we are limiting God--and thinking we can be more than we are. Take a look at the next three stories of individuals who realized that following after God pr chasing the lion is not necessarily always safe. Their actions speak to how great God is and how willing they were in trusting Him even when the demands were risky.
Esther 4:16
"Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I am willing to die."
Nehemiah 2: 4, 5
The king said to me, "What is it you want?" Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it."
Daniel 3:16-18
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter if we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
Sometimes taking a calculated risk means giving up something good so you can experience something great. Small choices and small changes become magnified over time and have major consequences.
Chasing lions means you are brave enough to pray that God would show up in large, outlandish, living colors in your life. It requires you to open your arms wide and let God be God. Not who you think he is. Not who you’re comfortable with. Not what others tell you he has to be/must be/should be. Chasing lions opens the door to experience the paradox of not safe and good. You can only find those two opposites in God.
What dreams or aspirations for your life do you have? What is some courageous choice that you need to make that may be the only thing between you and your dream becoming a reality.
The goal of faith is not the elimination of risk. Following after Christ will cost you something. However a relationship with God is the ultimate win/win relationship because you can never give up more than you get back. List out the rewards of God you see in your life.
If you could do anything without the risk of failure what would it be?
We won’t regret the mistakes we made as much as the God ordained opportunities we missed
Consider the cost
There is no such thing as risk free faith. What risks are stopping you from tackling an important task or growing in an important area in your life right now?
