Please don't be risk-averse

I love to be around people with vision.  I need to rub shoulders with 'can do' types  I am inspired by those who are willing to take risks.  I actually think that as Christians we must not be risk-averse.  One of the keys to stepping out in faith is to have the right view of success.

What is your view of success?  Is it better to try and fail than not to try at all?  My view of success is to act upon what God has put on your heart.  My view of failure is not to act.  I am not saying that we should be reckless and the Proverbs are clear that we need to pay heed to wise counsel.  But I think it is tragic when churches fail to act for fear that something might not take off.

What is it that we are afraid of?  Are we scared that the nay-sayers who prophesied that something wouldn't work will say 'I told you so'?  If that is the case then get over it.  Such fear is the fear of man (or woman) rather than the fear of God.  Are we scared that we will be bad stewards who wasted money, time and effort on something that proved unpopular?  Remember that we are ultimately accountable to God and I don't believe that he will be grieved if we step out in faith and don't achieve all that we had hoped for.  But he will be grieved if we are too scared to act.

So let us pray and feel guided, dream big dreams, seek all the counsel you can but make sure to act.  Remember that just because something didn't achieve much in the past doesn't mean that it won't work now.  Give things a try.  Encourage those who are taking risks and praise their courage even if things don't go as planned.  Read the book of Acts and see that God is into doing amazing things.  Don't be intimidated by the apparent obstacles.  Fear God rather than fearing that we might get egg on our face.  Step out in faith and just do something.