When we speak of life’s “ups and downs” I like to think of them in this context: There are moments when we are full of faith and courage. Then there are moments when we are fearful and uncertain. Unless you learn to face your fears (and essentially ignore them) you will play it safe over the course of your life. The discomfort often found in ambiguity and change will cause you to remain in your current position. Your destiny is a destination. You gotta keep moving.
Do you remember Elijah, the prophet in the Old Testament? He was brolic about the power of God. He boldly went into a crowd of “haters” and called down fire. Then he proclaimed to everyone that “The Lord – he is God”. Basically, in modern day terms…he set it off on them.
There is always someone who THINKS they are bigger and badder than you and will challenge who you say you are. So…in the case of Elijah, here comes Jezebel. Even if you never went to Sunday school, you know the name Jezebel is nothing nice. You heard your aunties and ’em calling girls Jezebels back in the day. Jezebel was not happy with Elijah and she put the word out that she was coming for him.
What did big bad Elijah do? Did he set it on Jezebel? Nope. Did he call out to his God, whom he professes is Lord? Nope…he ran and hid in a cave. (1Kings 18/19) Has that ever happened to you? You took a bold step into your destiny. You were clear, confident and convicted. Once you took that step you looked around and said “Oh snap!”
It is much easier to play it safe in life. Once you get to a comfortable point where your world is simply moving quietly and calmly on its axis you can get complacent. You start to believe that “good enough” is as good as it gets. But that is not the life those of us in Christ are destined to have. Jesus said he came to give us a full life. (John 10:10) If your spirit does not leap for joy at the thought of your life and the destiny God has placed in you…its time to make changes. If the troubles in your life are more than “light and momentary (2 Cor 4:17) then you need to get hooked up to your destiny.
Whoever “they” is….they say it is better to be safe than sorry. But, playing it safe will only postpone your “sorry” to the end of your life rather than now. I would much rather be at the end of life thinking back on all the things I’ve done and say, “Oh well” instead of looking back on empty dreams and promises with the same “oh well” feeling.
I am just as afraid as Elijah was when he heard Jezebel was coming after him. I have days when I want to run in my cave and hide because the world is filled with Jezebels in many forms. However, as long as we stay locked in our power – the God that lives IN us through the Holy Spirit – there is no Jezebel, Lolita, Tom, Dick or Harry that can stop us from reaching our full potential. So, I choose not to play it safe. I offer no apologies.