Don’t Be Afraid to Take Risks

What does it mean to have bold faith? It means taking risks.

The Bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV).

You see an example of taking risks in the parable of the talents. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the story of a man who went away for a while and gave his servants some “talents”—a large amount of money. He gave one person one talent, another person two talents, and another person five talents.

The five-talent person invested his money and doubled it. The two-talent person invested it and got two more talents. When the master came back and saw what they had done, he said to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23 NIV).

But the person who was given one talent became afraid, so he hid his talent in the ground. When the master saw this, he said, “You wicked, lazy servant . . . you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest” (Matthew 25:26-27 NIV).

The lesson Jesus wants us to learn is this: God wants you to take risks in faith. If you make the most of what he’s given you, then you’re going to be given even more. But if you’re scared and take no risks, then you’re actually being unfaithful—you’re not acting in faith—with what God’s given you.

I remember when Saddleback Church was buying our 120-acre campus in Orange County, California. People in the community began to ask, “Who do those people think they are, buying that much land in Orange County?”

When I heard them, I thought, “Wrong question.” The right question is: “Who do we think God is?” Then we let the size of our God determine the size of our goal.

Ephesians 3:20 says, “Glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes” (TLB).

So, go ahead, take big risks and have bold faith. Because God says to you, “I can take your biggest dream—and top it!”