"You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength." (NLT)
Faith always means risk. (We are taking the leap of faith; God will hear our prayers and will fulfil His promises) Everything in life is a risk. (Marrying is a risk but you have faith that the one you are marrying will make you happy forever) Ecclesiastes 10:8 says, "When you work in a quarry, stones might fall and crush you! When you chop wood, there is danger with each stroke of your ax! Such are the risks of life" (NLT). There's nothing we can do that doesn't have some element of risk in it.
But the greatest risk of all is how we relate to other people and how we relate to God – the risk to do something about those relationships. (It takes courage and risk when you speak about God, not everyone believes in His mighty power, they will tend to mock you and God) Mark 12:30 says, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength" (NLT). You take a risk when you love with all your heart. Is it worth it? Absolutely. Jesus reminded us that one of the greatest mistakes we can make is to play it safe with our lives. He said, "If you try to keep your life for yourself, you'll lose it."
You probably remember the part in the third Indiana Jones movie where Indiana Jones came to the edge of a cliff. He was challenged to step out over the cliff even though he couldn't see a bridge beforehand. That's not a bad picture of genuine faith. Faith is stepping out and doing what God has asked you to do when you can't see what will happen in the end. You don't know exactly what God's going to do in the end, but you know he's asking you to step out in faith.
The story of the Red Sea,
Moses held out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind. It blew all night and turned the sea into dry land. The water was divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on both sides. The Egyptians pursed them and went after them into the sea with all their horses, chariots, and drivers. Just before dawn the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw them into a panic. He made the wheels of their chariots get stuck, so that they moved with great difficulty.
The Egyptians said, "The LORD if fighting for the Israelites against us. Let's get out of here!"
The LORD said to Moses, "Hold out your hand over the sea, and the water will come back over the Egyptians and their chariots and drivers."
So Moses held out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the water returned to its normal level. The Egyptians tried to escape from the water, but the LORD threw them into the sea. The water retuned and covered the chariots, the drivers, and all the Egyptian army that had followed the Israelites into the sea; not one of them was left.
But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on both sides.
On that day the LORD saved the people of Israel from the Egyptians, and the Israelites saw them lying dead on the seashore.
When the Israelites saw the great power with which the LORD had defeated the Egyptians, they stood in awe of the LORD; and they had faith in the LORD and in his servant Moses.
Many times we'll come to the edge of faith in our own lives. We're not sure where things are headed. Maybe it is a decision to start a relationship with Jesus for the first time. Maybe you need to trust him with a business decision or something related to a relationship. There is a risk in stepping out in faith. Who will you trust? Will you trust in the Lord with all your heart? What if you're wrong? Is it really God telling you to take the step of faith?
Practice the 80/20 principle
If you'll do the 80 percent of God's will that's clear in the Bible, he'll show you the 20 percent that's not clear. In other words, love your neighbour. Spend time in God's Word. Talk to God in prayer. Spend time with God's people. Love your family. Love your kids. Protect the way that you speak to people. Be kind in your relationships. Be patient. Do the 80 percent that's clear and God will show you the rest?
So take the risk. Trust God with everything you have. Do what God has told you to do in His Word. Then, when God challenges you with a risk of faith, you'll be more confident to do what God tells you to do.
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