“Risk is essential in our pursuit of wisdom and growth as human beings.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – April 15, 2023
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7, NIV
From my office where I write, I can look out the window and see several oak and maple trees in the distant corner of our field, each well over 60 feet in height. During a typical day I pay little to no attention to these trees, yet earlier this week I noticed my children hauling wooden boards across the yard and collecting them at the base of the Silver Maple. These boards were quickly transformed into steps, and before I knew it my children were 15 feet off the ground, proudly surveying the land from their new vantage point.
What I couldn’t tell from where I sat, and later learned from my wife, was the amount of fear and trepidation that had to be overcome in order to reach this towering height. Especially for our youngest, there was a genuine desire and longing for adventure, yet an equal amount of uncertainty around the risk of this newfound pursuit. And while you may not spend your days hunting for trees to climb (though I recommend it as a life-giving pastime at any age!), each of us in our own way daily faces similar tensions between desire and fear, adventure and uncertainty.
Risk is essential in our pursuit of wisdom and growth as human beings. When we take risks, we embrace the gift of vulnerability, opening ourselves to the unknown and learning to trust in the care and protection of God, not in the abstract, but in real and concrete ways. Taking risks can be uncomfortable, but like a child who overcomes their fear and reaches the heights of a tree, we too realize we are capable of more than we thought and are able to discover something new about ourselves and the world in the process.
Of course, wisdom is needed to discern the difference between healthy risk and reckless behavior. God gives you the gift of reason for a reason! Seek counsel and input in your life from trusted advisors, yet avoid the trap of analysis paralysis. It is possible to have done all the research and know all the details yet still be staring down a decision that feels unknown, uncertain, and yes, risky. It is in such moments that our faith is tested, and we must step out in trust, believing the Lord is with us as we do, and through the process will invite us into a new and exciting chapter of our lives.
Prayer
Father, give us the courage to follow as you lead, and to embrace risk as a necessary part of our growth in you, we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
What does healthy, God-honoring risk look like in your life today?
Related Reading
1 Chronicles 28:20; John 14:27; Philippians 4:6-7
Worship Resource
Hillsong UNITED: Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)
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