What if it Doesn’t Work Out?
What's really at stake?
How many risks do we refuse to take simply because we are unsure what the end result will be? How many blessings do we defer because we lack the faith to seek them? How much joy do we forsake because we’re afraid of the shame of failure. How much evil do we allow to spread in this world because of our own lack of courage?
“Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. (Exodus 1:15–17)
These women were prepared to take risks and countless lives were saved.
But Pharaoh was relentless. He “commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.” (Exodus 1:22)
Moses’s birth was illegal. If any Egyptian saw him they were obligated by law to murder him. His parents took a great risk in keeping Moses hidden. But of course they couldn’t hide him forever. So when he turned 3 months old his mother fashioned the only protection she could give him, a water tight wicker basket. Can you even imagine the moment when she had to let go and watch Moses drift down the Nile, hoping beyond hope that somehow God would provide?
In that moment, she didn’t know that her baby boy would be saved. She didn’t know that “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” (Hebrews 11:24–25) She didn’t know that one day Moses would lead the Isralietes out of slavery. She didn’t know that one day her son would stand before Jesus at the Transfiguration. All she had was the courage to take a risk.
It may seem like the risks God puts before us are meaningless by comparison. But we never know what is at stake when God asks us to act. It is not for us to know the outcome, only to boldly go where he calls us to go. Is there a risk that God is asking you to take? Will you join God in taking that risk today, or leave it for someone else to take tomorrow?
Shawn
You can purchase a copy of Karl’s new book, Killing Sin, right here!