Stop Playing It Safe

 

Responding to God’s Purpose for You!

Ecclesiastes 11:4, 6

“₄ If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done… ₆ Be sure to stay busy and plant a variety

of crops, for you never know which will grow perhaps they all will.”

Life involves both risk and opportunity. Risk-taking is one of the most important factors in fulfilling one’s goal and becoming an effective achiever. Because life has no guarantees, we must be prepared. And just because life is  uncertain does not mean we should do nothing. We need a spirit of trust and adventure, facing life’s risks and  opportunities with God-directed enthusiasm and faith.

Think of these following statements

· Most of us don’t serve. Why? It might not be safe!

· Most of us don’t dream great dreams. Why? It might not be safe!

· Most of us don’t share our faith or take a stand. Why? It might not be safe!

· Most of us don’t tithe or give sacrificially. Why? It might not be safe!

· Most of us don’t break  habits, take risks, build relationships, or have adventures . . .

Why? All for one reason: It might not be safe!

FOUR PRICE TAGS OF PLAYING IT SAFE

1.  Playing it safe LIMITS your IMPACT.

Playing it safe will limit your impact, and it will also send you down the road to stagnation, unrealized potential, and unfulfilled dreams. Got any God-honoring risks you are being called to take? The impact you can make explodes the minute you remove the handcuffs of fear and decide to make your life count.

2. Playing it safe MINIMIZES your FAITH.

Authentic faith is developed only when we respond to the call of God and take a risk. That’s because when we take a risk, we learn that God can come through. We learn that God can do what we can’t do on our own.

3 Playing it safe LIMITS your GROWTH.

Playing it safe stunts your growth so your faith doesn’t deepen and you don’t fall any deeper in love with God.

4.  Playing it safe SHRINKS your HEARTS.

Our faith gets tested and stretched only when we respond to Jesus asking us to do something that in our human logic is impossible. Taking steps of faith is the alternative to the boredom and stagnation that cause most people to wither up and die

Oftentimes it is easier to stay with the familiar. To the things you are comfortable with. These comfortable and familiar things serve as our security.  Faith stands on the word BOLDLY ‘Let us therefore come BOLDLY unto the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in a time of need.’

STEPS to BREAKING FREE FROM THE IDOL OF SAFETY

1. Stop saying NO to everything just because it is SCARY.

2. Stop watching - Start Living

3. Take Confidence in God’s WORD.

4. Take COURAGE.

There is no such thing as zero risk. In other words, you're going to take risks no matter what. You decide whether you will take the risks that come with moving forward, backward, or not at all.

 1. What is one of the most difficult things you have ever had to do? What did it feel like?

2. What is it that keeps you from moving forward?

3. How does your view of God affect your situation? How do you think your view of God needs to change?

4. What are some “impossible” situations you are facing? Are you fully persuaded that God has enough power to do what He promised?