Growing up I heard a familiar phrase every time I walked out the door – “Be Careful.” I heard this so much that I grew up believing that being careful, not taking risks was the mature and wise choice to make in life. I began to believe risk taking was for those who were careless and reckless people. I valued safe decisions, living a safe life. And guess what happened, I lived a steady, respectable successful life. I was a popular student in high school, class president, varsity basketball player, class valedictorian, and had a lot of friends. The problem with this was that there was something deeper inside of me that was starting to scream to me, that there was more to life. That voice kept getting louder and louder through the following years and a defining moment came one winter night in a dorm room in Orange City, Iowa. That night Jesus spoke to me and asked me if I would be willing to let go of a plan to make millions of dollars through my a business career which I was launching through a business scholarship, so that I could reach out to lost students who needed to know Jesus and that He wanted to save them from something and for a life that He has planned for them. It was risky – I didn’t have a plan to pay for college without my business scholarship, I knew that there would not be financial or job security for the rest of my life. I had a sense that I would not grow up close to home or be at any one location more than a decade. These thoughts went against everything that was safe and careful. That night I took the risk and something came alive in the deepest places of my heart and ever since then I have lived in the current of risk and have never been more alive, because that is the place where Jesus wanted me to be. If I wouldn’t have taken that risk, I would never have experienced the incredible gifts that God has given me – seeing hundreds of people come to Christ – going from spiritual death to eternal life, seeing dozens of people step into the bigger plans that God has for their lives, and being able to see miracles all around me. Taking risks has changed my life and changed my perspective to what is possible in life.
Key Learning Number Five – Don’t Risk – Unless You Are Ready for Your Life to Change
Straight up – I whole heartedly believe that you shouldn’t risk unless you are ready for your life to change. But if you want your life to change you MUST take a risk. Let me tell you about a teenage girl who was a waitress at a restaurant on Sunday nights. Each week for months, a group of us would go to this restaurant after our student ministry to hangout and debrief. This girl was an amazing girl and far from God. Over the months we got to know this girl and as her senior year was coming to a close, we invited her to our student summer camp and in a moment of weakness or clarity she said yes. The morning came to get on the bus and she was frozen in her car, she didn’t want to go, she didn’t know anyone, she felt alone, this was not a careful or safe decision to get out of the car. She argued with her driver to pull out of the parking lot and just go home. Then she opened the door and stepped out of her car. She made it to the bus. She made it to camp. She made it to the 6th floor room, even though she was scared of heights. She made it through day one, day two, day three. Then as my team and I were prepping I got a knock on the door and a room full of girls came in and wanted to share the news that this waitress who had taken a huge risk was ready for her life to change forever. That day, this waitress was forgiven by Jesus and she stepped into a new life.
I have seen over and over again people having a struggle whether or not to take a risk, whether that be with giving their lives to Christ, stepping into the plans that Jesus is offering them, or making the right choice even when it is difficult. I can tell you from my experience that when you risk with Jesus, He will change your life. If you want a comfortable, safe life – don’t risk. But I encourage you to not settle for comfortable and safe, take a risk and go for a life change. You will never know what Jesus can do with your life, if you don’t give Him control.