There’s No Faith Without Risk

There is no faith without risk.

Faith means stepping out into the unknown when you don’t know what’s even in the unknown. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (ESV). That means we walk while looking with spiritual eyes, not physical eyes. We look from God’s point of view, not from a human point of view.

Faith is letting go of your security. Faith is saying, “I’m going to face my fears. I’m going to risk failure. I’m going to dare to move forward.”

When my kids were young, I took them to the circus. My favorite part was watching the trapeze artists. One of them would swing out, and then another would leave his platform. Then there’s the moment of truth, when the trapeze artist has to make a decision: “If I’m going to grab on to the other guy, I’m going to have to let go of this trapeze. Do I let go of the security of one to grab hold of the security of the other?”

Of course, he doesn’t have all day to think about it. If he waits until “next time,” then he’ll go back, and every swing will be a little farther away from his goal. Pretty soon, he’ll come to a standstill and be stuck. There is no time for indecision.

It’s the same with faith. If you want to grow as a follower of Jesus, you’ve got to take a risk. When Peter walked on water, he first had to get out of the boat. You have to leave the safety of what you’ve always known for the safety of God’s purpose. You’ve got to let go and grab ahold of God’s best for you.

Faith is risking the failure. It’s making the investment of time, money, energy, or reputation, knowing that you don’t have to fear the unknown or what will happen if you can’t do it on your own. When you’re motivated by faith rather than fear, God can do something awesome through you.