5 Risks You Can Take to Shake Things Up
The fall is kind of like my new year. Everyone goes back to school and it feels like a fresh start for me. I’ve been thinking about this new season and it’s brought me back to one of my favorite topics: risk. I love it so much. I’ve found in my faith and in my life, that when I walk in comfort and try to make everything work out just right, I become unhappy. I miss the best parts of life and the best parts of God. Some of us love risk and some of us hate it, but the truth is that on the other side of risk, there is more of God. When you risk, you need God.
WHAT WORKS 100% OF THE TIME
I remember being in seminary and my professor, I asked “what do we need to do to grow in our faith.” He wrote all these ways you grow up on the board. Things we’re all familiar with. Then we went through them and we realized the only thing that works 100% of the time is Godly, obedient risk. Look throughout the Bible, and you see over and over again a God who calls his people into unknown territory. He calls us to do scary things that he has to deliver on. When we do that, he shows up and moves. That is what I have seen consistently through my life. When we took risk, our faith skyrocketed. We couldn’t believe what God was doing around us. We couldn’t believe the way he entered into our lives. I believe in this.
I’m going to give you a few fun risks you could take. I call them fun because I know they’re scary, but I believe on the other side you won’t regret it. Growth will happen, new people will be brought in your life, and it might even shift the trajectory of your life.
Lead a Bible study. Just send the invite. Nothing changes our view of God more than understanding him better through the study of his word. There’s nothing more powerful than sitting with a group and discussing that together. It takes the risk of one person saying yes, I will do it. Everyone is aching for community.
See a counselor. Zac and I saw a counselor a few years into our marriage. He was a youth pastor, we were taking seminary classes, and had two young kids. Needless to say, we had no extra money. We didn’t go on date nights, we didn’t buy new clothes, but we committed to going to counseling every week for a year and a half. It took a few months, but I saw so much fruit from it. Some of you have been stuck in negative, toxic thought patterns you feel like you cannot break. It doesn’t have to be that way. We have to break through these things and God can use Godly counselors that are gospel-centered to lead people out of difficult things. If you think there’s no way on earth you can afford that, go to your church. A lot of churches offer free counseling. A lot of churches offer recovery classes that could be similar. I think understanding ourselves and how we work is so helpful.
Try something new! This is more fun, but this really has caused spark for me. I am in my early 40s and I have found that there are patterns and stuck places that creativity helps break up. Do something to break up the mundane and find something creative to do! Take a dance class, a pottery class, go on walks, do something out of the box.
Visit a church that’s really different from yours. This is one of Zac and I’s favorite things to do. We’ll go to African American churches, a different denomination, or a church plant. We just love exploring churches, and it’s fun to see how people worship. It expands your view of God.
Meet with God in a different way. I can get in a rut where it feels like an obligation to be with God. A few times a semester, I’ll go and do something different. Sometimes I’ll go to a park, go to a coffee shop, go out in nature, just be with God in a different way.
Those are five risks that I think will jump start spiritually, relationally, creatively some amazing things! Pick one, go for it, and then tell us your stories! We would love to hear how taking Godly, obedient risk shapes your life these next few months.
