Exploits favour risk-takers

There is an abiding element of risk in life and in faith. And failing to take risk is missing life and uncommon exploits.
An unknown author beautifully illustrated the necessity of taking risk in the following lines: “To laugh is to risk appearing a fool. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying. Risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love . . . live. Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave; he has forfeited freedom.” I say amen to these truths.
High risk, high return and low risk, low return is a summing fact of all investment and portfolio management courses. Actually, this fact was extracted from the oldest and holy book – the Bible. All the famous characters in the Bible who rose out of obscurity into prominent positions had one characteristic in common. It was that they were risk-takers. For instance David became famous only after taking the risk of fighting giant Goliath. After killing the most dreaded giant, the women of Judah sang praises of exalting David above the coward Saul. From that time David’s name and kingdom began to grow stronger and stronger while Saul’s grew weaker and weaker.
In the opening scripture above we have a record of the exploits of David’s mightiest men. Having been under David’s training three men became prominent because they took uncommon risk and did uncommon exploits. One of the risks they took was to break through the enemy’s (Philistine) defence lines to draw fresh cold water and brought it back to satisfy David’s longing for that water. They went and returned at the risk of losing their lives. David, imagining what a high risk these men had taken, did not drink the water but gave it as an offering to God. It was the attitude of taking risk that resulted in these men doing great exploits for their king and their nation.
Abraham put his integrity on the line by believing God for a child when he was very old and Sarah had passed the child-bearing age. Abraham took his faith to the edge by risking the life of his only son. Moses hazarded his life by returning to confront Pharaoh as a deliverer of the Hebrews after he had run away from Pharaoh fearing punishment for murdering an Egyptian.
Daniel and the other three Hebrew boys became famous and wealthy after taking the risk of losing their lives by defying the orders of the ungodly king Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. Esther, a beauty queen, carelessly approached the king’s throne without invitation declaring, ‘If I perish, I perish.”  Yet it was the risks that they took that transformed them from being nobodies to exploit-doers, and from being people of no consequence to being history makers.
The moral of this whole story is that if you want to do exploits in life or in faith then you must dare to take risk. Like the bank vault which is tightly guarded is the thing you desire. If the thing you desire is not stiffly competed for, it is in the hands of your enemies or in the strong room of Satan himself. You cannot get around the issue; you must take risk to get what you really want. You might be a bachelor or spinster mulling celibacy because your fear to marry the wrong person, and risk being infected with HIV. I dare you to choose your partner and marry.
Yes the operating environment is unsupportive to business prosperity but you must turn your vision of being an entrepreneur into a reality by starting a business or opening the closing ones. Unemployment and retrenchment are now commonplace objects but students must still attain diplomas and degrees and job-seekers apply for employment.
Xenophobia and deportation threaten foreigners but you must still look for greener pastures abroad. You may have contracted HIV or sick of any terminal disease like cancer and know a number of people who died of it but you must risk your faith by believing for healing.
Cost of discipleship is very high as Christ talks of losing your life in order to save it but you must still follow Christ.  Cost of full time service to God may include leaving a well-paying job and sleeping some nights without eating anything but you must answer the call anyway.
However, there is a safety valve that you must always consider before taking risk called calculating risk.
-For prayer and counselling call 0772889766 or email mairos78@yahoo.co.uk