After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.
—Acts 4:31
Scripture:
In today’s devotion, we’re going to talk about the hot-button issue of risk versus reward—knowing when to be bold and when to exercise caution in the decisions that mark our lives. We’re going to focus specifically on risk versus reward as it relates to our Christian faith. And we’re going to start in the book of Acts.
As we saw in several earlier devotions, the Christians in the book of Acts set a high bar when it came to boldness. They understood the risks of sharing the gospel. The apostles Peter, John, and Paul, along with Silas and countless others, were thrown in prison for carrying out God’s work. Stephen and James, among countless others, were killed for their bold faith.
The reason is that these first-century Christians also understood the rewards of fulfilling the Great Commission. They considered the risks but decided that the rewards were too great to pass up.
So, what about Christians today? Many believers are perfectly willing to take a step of faith—if there’s a backup plan. They prefer to have a safety net. And when it comes to making spiritual decisions, there’s certainly a place for caution, a place for prudence, and a place for seeking the counsel of those who have lived longer than we have. Having said that, there is also a place for faith. There is also a place for taking chances and deciding that the risks are worth it.
Generally speaking, the older we get, the less willing we are to take risks. We prefer to have everything laid out for us. We want to know what will happen after this and after that. But sometimes God will say, “I’m not going to tell you. I want you to just obey Me.”
That’s why I would rather try something and fail than never try at all. And if you do try and ultimately fail, then learn something from your failure. I would venture to say that any person who has been successful in ministry, in business, or in any other enterprise has had more than his or her share of failures and has learned something from every one of them. It’s been said that the doorway of success is often entered through the hallway of failure. So, if at first you don’t succeed, relax. You are just like the rest of us.
I’m urging you to take a risk and do something for God. If you’ve been thinking about starting a Bible study at work and are unsure whether anyone will show up, go for it. If you’re thinking of sharing the gospel with someone, but you don’t know how they will respond, go for it. Try it. Pray about it. Ask the Lord for direction. But take a risk. Take a chance here and there and watch what God will do.
Reflection question: What would taking a spiritual risk look like in your life? Discuss this with believers like you on Harvest Discipleship!
