Risk
Comfort is an alluring offer. Comfort and security can give us the things we are taught to want, but ultimately comfort holds us back from doing great things. Risk is the only way a person can achieve their dreams or calling. Risk goes hand in hand with faith, for without risking anything, your faith would not be coupled with action, and thus, it would be dead. Life is filled with risk, but the greatest risk of all is never taking a risk. In our society today we are taught from a young age to avoid any risk whatsoever. With each passing generation we become more pampered, coddled, and fearful, all while being told, taking any risk is something to be feared. Today’s generation wants more, yet they are unwilling to risk anything to get it. However, history proves to us, it is the risk-takers who shape the world. Think for a moment of any Biblical character that God operated through. Were they risk-takers? David vs Goliath, Noah and the ark, Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt, Joshua and the conquest, the Apostle Paul on his missionary journeys, etc… All of these great figures faced extreme risks to follow their faith, yet they conquered because they believed in God. You can too, but you must step out in faith and take a risk on God.
Risks Unaware: In our society, people are told to follow plans. Don’t deviate, just follow the plan. Yet, by not questioning the system, a person takes risks unaware. For example, look at the current economic risk millions of students undertake to attend college without clearly defined goals. Many 18-year olds are clueless as to what their life’s work will be, and for good reason, they are only 18! Regardless, they will enroll in expensive colleges, go for a major, spend more time socializing than studying, then change their mind and go for a different major, all while racking up extreme amounts of debt. According to a national study, the average graduate student loan debt balance is $91,148 among federal borrowers. The average undergraduate student loan debt balance is $36,635. Additionally, these graduating students will enter the workforce and only find that menial jobs are available, thus creating a debt imbalance and forcing many to move back home to seek help from their parents as their debts make it untenable to live self-sufficiently. This is not to say college is bad or not needed, but it should give students pause to define their goals sooner rather than later, or risk wasting a lot of money and becoming a slave to the system. Once you are in debt, you are owned by someone. We give this example because, many times, we are asked the question by prospective missionaries about how to finance missions. In our opinion, accumulating $35,000 in school loans is a much larger risk than raising support for a missionary journey for 3–6 months and being debt-free. Plus, if one was to decide to come back after 3–6 months on the mission field, they could then decide to enter college and go for the exact degree they were previously considering, all while only risking 3–6 months of their time. With this perspective, the risk of missions is far less than most people think. Beyond missions, it is a good rule to consider the risk you are taking the next time you are contemplating any large purchase (home, car, phones, etc.) or long contract that is tied to finances. You will do better in life to consider what you are indebting yourself to before making a decision that will cost you later.
Risk for your Calling: When you have faith, risk isn’t a risk at all, because you know it in your spirit. It might seem like a risk to the world, but it is not to you. Many people are so fearful to take a risk on their calling that they live their entire life in the comfort of the status quo. This is one way to live, but you will ultimately cap your future because you will always be beholden to someone else who makes the rules and sets your path. If you think about any person, throughout history or currently, that you admire for their creativity, entrepreneurial skills, business acumen, inventions, or ministry, they are all people who took risks. These same risk-takers were also told at one point or another that their ideas or calling wouldn’t amount to much yet they persevered. For example, Moses had a stutter, Jesus was scoffed at because he was from Nazareth, Paul was mercilessly persecuted, but all these continued in faith. Trials and hardships follow those who risk, but he who is faithful in little will be faithful in much. Many modern-day ministries have similar origin stories of small beginnings and perseverance. For example, Loren Cunningham, the founder of YWAM ministries, had a life-changing vision while on a mission in the Bahamas. In this vision, he saw waves of young people crashing on the shores of every continent bringing the gospel to all nations. Loren knew that mobilizing these youth was to be his life’s work and he set himself to accomplish what God had shown him. He struggled along the way but always persevered. Through the years, YWAM has become one of the world’s largest missions organizations and has reached millions of unreached people around the world. Beyond ministries, even people of the world who took risks and thought differently have origin stories that tell a similar tale. Christopher Columbus set out on a treacherous journey into the unknown on what would become one of the most world-changing expeditions. He famously said, “You can never cross the ocean unless you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” Sam Walton, with a capital of $25,000 that he borrowed from his father along with the $5,000 that he saved from the army, bought a Ben Franklin variety store which he expanded into the retail giant Walmart. Beethoven wrote and conducted the Ninth Symphony while he was deaf. Martin Luther, a lowly monk, challenged the core of Catholicism and paved the way for reform. The common theme of each of these pioneers was that no matter the odds they were going to risk it and do something special.
We, as Christians, know that we are designed for a purpose (Psalms 139:14). One of the greatest tragedies a person could do in life would be to never take a risk to accomplish their purpose. If you have a plan or a vision in your heart for ministry — risk it and begin. If God has given you an invention — risk it and create it. If you have a plan for a business — risk it and start it up. Life is too short to not take a risk. Be bold and remember when you have faith — taking a risk is not a risk at all.
In Him,
Tim and Will