Adventure with the Spirit(Part 1)

Risky Heroes

The initial idea for this post came from listening to Matt Walsh point out how much respect our culture has lost for people who take risks. It used to be that risks, for the sake of exploration, adventure, and human advancement, were celebrated. Now the world’s collective response is to quickly condemn the members of Titan submersible for taking risks, but this post is not about the Titan sub. That was just what got me thinking, along with a few Bible passages I was reading at the time. It got me wondering: Are Christians supposed to take risks? And are we meant to respect those who do? While there are likely many great ways to answer these questions, I wanted to share ideas from passages God has been using to speak into my life recently.

Should I go or should I stay?

In short, the answer to the question, “Are Christians supposed to take risks?”, is “yes and no”. It depends on the situation. Obviously, Christians are meant to have wisdom and discernment, but there are plenty of times where God commands someone to do something bold, risky, and in a worldly perspective, foolish. The passage I was reading recently that was an example of this, is when God calls Abram.

Genesis 12:1-4
	"The Lord had said to Abram, 'Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.'

'I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.' "

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran."

Normally, taking your household away from all they know, to start a nation in a new land, especially when you and your wife are barren, would be considered risky and downright crazy. Why Abram does it, and why he is considered a hero of the faith for it, is because he does it in faith. Risk just for no reason is stupid, but if you take a risk because of a firm belief, it’s not just a risk, it’s faith. The pioneers, explorers, and inventors of the past took risks because they had faith that what they were doing was going to bless humanity with something revolutionary. If they succeeded, they would receive the credit.
Similarly, Abram trusted God that his step of faith would one day bless the world, so he made the risky choice and left Haran. So, yes, as far as obeying God, Christians are meant to take risks. That means even when it is costly and risky.
Now, that does not always mean the risky or adventurous choice is what God is calling us into. Many of us would gladly accept a noble, adventurous challenge from God. If we were called to slay a dragon, travel the world, share the gospel on live television, or stand against our atheist professor in an epic standoff like it’s God’s Not Dead, we would do it! But then when it comes to sharing the gospel with a stranger in public or fasting and praying, that either is too much or is not interesting or important enough to us. Sometimes, the most courageous or risky choice is to stay right where God has you and to be faithful there.

As I was reading through Jeremiah in my devotions I came to Jeremiah 29, which is famous for its out-of-context, Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” In context, the verse is less a verse about everything will go smoothly because God has a plan, but is instead a call to trust God’s plan when life is full of suffering. Chapter 29 is Jeremiah’s letter to the Israelites in captivity in Babylon.

Jeremiah 29:3-10 
	He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said:

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:  ‘Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.  Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.’ Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.

This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.’" 

As I reread this chapter, I imagined the people gathering in hopeful anticipation of this letter’s message. They were being told by many “prophets” the exile would end and they could go home soon. I imagined their heartbreak as instead the letter told them the exile would last another seventy years. To drive the nail even deeper, Jeremiah instructed them to settle down, have families and build vineyards like this foreign land was their permanent home. It is right after this we find Jeremiah 29:11.
Oftentimes, when in trials or even just tedious seasons of life, we would do anything to change it. We would do any risky or courageous act to change our situation if we could, but God is telling us it’s not the time. He needs us to trust Him and be faithful in the tasks He has given us to do. In those times, it takes more faith and courage to remain where we are, and do nothing risky or adventurous.