The last post we started looking at taking risks through the lens of the woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8:43-48). We will continue today looking at fear and why we do not take risks.
Why do we not take risks? – The first reason that people do not take risks has to do with “the Fear Factors.” What are these fear factors?
1. The Fear of Loss – but there is the old saying “nothing ventured nothing gained”.
1. Loss of reputation
2. Loss of Friends/Family
3. Loss of Money
Here is the thing – are we really going to fear losing things that are not ours – they all belong to God. Our reputation belongs to God, Our family and friends belong to God, and our money belongs to God. When we understand that, it should make it easier to know that we need not fear.
2. The Fear of Failure – Risking and not making it is the fear. There is no such thing as failing – it is all opportunities to grow. The greatest lessons in life come through failing.
· A winner first knows what losing is like – Malcolm Forbes
Just because you do not succeed does not mean that you failed. The only time we fail is when we quit. You do not measure a man or woman by what they do but by what makes them quit. All too often people quit just before God comes in and shows His power and His answer. Let me just say – if you never taste defeat you really do not understand how sweet success really is – especially God’s success! Never fear failing!
3. The Fear of Humiliation – The definition of humiliation is interesting – it is to reduce to a lower position in one’s own eyes or others’. Whose eyes is it important to be in – that is the real question?
1. What will others say? – Is this really something we should be asking ourselves?
2. What will I think of myself? – Again, is this a right question to ask?
3. Here is the Right question – What will God say? It is all about being faithful to Him!
Fear is a healthy thing if it is put into it proper place. Fear is there to protect us, but we are wrong and off base when we allow it to run and rule us. This woman that touched the hem of Jesus garment did not allow fear of loss, failure, or humiliations keep her from taking the risk of faith that she took. Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear – (Mark Twain) and I see that this woman most likely had fear but she allowed faith to rule her life and not the fear. Do you allow fear or faith to rule your life?
The second reason we do not take risks has to do with”the Comfort Zone.”
We all desire to be comfortable. I lived in an apartment that the heat unit was called the comfort zone. You would put the dial on the comfort zone and walk away. It was the area on the dial that made the room or apartment comfortable so that you would not want to leave it. We all desire comfort but sometimes being uncomfortable brings about positive change. The Bible nowhere promises us that we are going to be comfortable in this life. I do not know of anytime that someone died from being uncomfortable – it will not kill you but will most likely build character in you. This life is not about our comfort but it is about Christ. All too often we just do not risk because we do not want to get out of that comfort zone.
We stop challenging ourselves. When we are comfortable we are not challenged. There are times at home when we need to not to be challenged but we need to rest. There are also times that we need to be challenged. You really do not know yourself until you have been challenged. You need to be stretched out. A challenge brings about growth. Challenges show us who we really are and even more than that challenges show us what we really believe. You can tell me all about your faith in Christ but what happens when the challenge comes – do you seek Christ or do you blame Him? The challenge really shows what you believe.
Again, going back to the woman who touched the hem of Jesus garment, she had to step out of her comfort zone to get healed. She had to put herself in a position that was uncomfortable and she did and it was well worth it because she found the healing she was looking for. She had to challenge herself to go and do something that I am sure she did not want to do. She had to push herself to get through the crowd just to touch that fringe of the robe of Jesus. It paid off for her and the same is true for all of us – if we are willing to be uncomfortable and challenge ourselves – we are putting ourselves in a position where Christ can do even more amazing things in and through us!
The third reason we do not take risks is “the Can’t Syndrome.”
You have told yourself you can’t do it – You in your mind tell yourself that there is no way that you could take the risk and you will not do. Or you tell yourself that you are not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, strong enough or whatever and you don’t! If you do not believe you can – you won’t. What we are doing when we say these kinds of things is – limiting what God can do through us. We make ourselves unavailable to Him for use.
Someone else has told you that you can’t do it – Maybe you did not tell yourself that you can’t but someone else told you that you would not be able to do it. The sad part is that you believed without ever trying and seeing. You never took the risk of trying – you just gave up and believed them. I am here to tell not that you can but you will never know until you do you best to do it!
The women who touched the hem of the garment pushed past all the excuses she made and others gave her to touch the garment. She did push past and got her goal.
What is something that you fear?
