I was reading in a daily devotional book[i] and I wanted to share the main thoughts with you. It was titled: Risk: Oversold and Underplayed. It challenges a comfortable faith that isn’t willing to risk too much for Jesus.

The fears of the psalmist are not our fears today and the fact that they aren’t should bother us. The psalmist remarks, “Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!” (Psalm 27:12–13, ESV).

How many of us have legitimate enemies because of our faith? How many of us experience violence because of the way we believe?

There are many problems with Christianity today, but one of the most pervasive is the lack of willingness to take major risks for Jesus. Likewise, there is doubt in God’s ability to overcome all the problems and hardships we face. We may say that we believe in God’s power to beat all odds, but we don’t face the odds as if that were true. If we did, there would be far more world-changing Christians than there are.

Instead, most Christians, at least in our part of the world, are quite comfortable with a faith that generally allows for them to live a life of comfort rather than a life of being stretched for God’s causes. And when I use “them,” I mean that as “we.” We all struggle with this, as a people and as individuals.

I think our fear of taking risks for Jesus is directly connected to our lack of knowledge about what to do when they come along. The psalmist tells us, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14, ESV). Notice that the psalmist tells us to wait for the Lord twice. Strength is found in the Lord, and that strength should be shown in how we live.

How can you take more risks for God? What are you waiting on, and how are you praying about that?

 

[i] Barry, John D., and Rebecca Kruyswijk. Connect the Testaments: A One-Year Daily Devotional with Bible Reading Plan. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012. Print.