Risk: A Vital Ingredient In Pursuit Of Destiny

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it” (Luke 9:2).

But without faith, it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Hebrew 11:6). Faith, by definition according to Heb. 11:1), is a risk. Are the risks of faith worth it? What we can’t do is removing all risk from faith. If we could prove God’s existence beyond a shadow of doubt, believing in Him would no longer demand faith. So, I realise this idea of pursuing a personal relationship with a God we can’t see or touch with our senses, whose existence can’t be proven scientifically, may seem a risky proposition to many people. In short, our personal relationship with God came at great risk to Him, as well (Genesis 2:15-17). In fact, according to the Bible, God took the initial task of creation by granting mankind free will to choose to believe and obey or not. Then He took an even greater risk in sending His Son to earth to live and die to give us a clearer idea of how we could have a personal relationship with Him. There is nothing God is asking us to risk for Him that He hasn’t already risked.
Don’t be afraid of failure. Take some risk.

It was risky for Moses to go and meet Pharaoh (Exodus 4)
It was risky for Abraham to sacrifice his long awaited son (Genesis 22:2-3, Hebrew 11:17-19)
It was risky for David to fight Goliath (1 Samuel 17:32-37)
It was risky for Jacob to move to Egypt to die there (Genesis 46:1-3)
It was risky for Jesus’ Disciples to leave their careers and followed Him (a new type of teacher in their time). Matthew a tax collector followed him, Mark 2:14-15.

It is risky for a pregnant woman in the labour room
It is risky not believing the medical report from your doctor, but to believe in God’s Word instead.
The first European explorers who reach America (whether Vikings, Columbus or whoever) and those who followed after them faced incredible risks.

Gospel Missionaries took great risk coming to Africa.
It is even risky these days going out because of insecurity. The truth is that life itself is risky, but life without any risk would be dull indeed. The most significant and universal risk factor in death is being born. The biggest risk is not taking one. According to Teddy Roosevelt: “Far better is it to dare mighty things than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much.”

There are three groups of people:
• Those, who sadly are so afraid to take any risk that they never actually manage to do anything of true significance in their lives e.g. the 10 out of the 12 spies’ report.
• Those who take all the wrong risks and tragically end up hurting and destroying themselves and others in the process e.g. Cain, Judas Iscariot.
• Those that take risk with wisdom, though not comfortable, but pursue them with all determination and conviction. According to Dr. Ben Carson (world-renowned neuro-surgeon) in his book “Take the risk, ” he outlined four analytical questions he tagged: “Best/Worst Analysis B/WA).” When you are faced with a hard decision or a risky situation in life, all your thinking, analysis and planning usually boil down to four simple questions:
• What is the best thing that can happen if I do this?
• What is the worst thing that can happen if I do this?
• What is the best thing that can happen if I don’t do this?
• What is the worst thing that can happen if I don’t do this? Great philosophers, leaders, inventors, and heroes of faith (Hebrew 11) took risks. Greatness in an endeavour is often measured in terms of the risks a person faces. Success is defined by risk taken and overcome.
• Pastor Tunde Henry-Temile is the Senior Pastor of Barnabas Generation.