When God prompts us to be audacious

Because we live in times when, no matter where you reside in this world, many people will not endure sound doctrine, many of us Christians tend to try to avoid risks and over-analyze situations based on how we assume things may turn out if we take certain actions to point people to God. Then there are believers who think it’s their time to just sit back and wait for God to make it clear to them with nothing but favorable conditions and all our ducks in a row or dominoes lined up perfectly before we make a move. Sometimes that may not be the case. Although we are not expected to blindly jump headlong into something foolishly without wisely considering our motives, intents, and ultimate goals, there are times we just need to make a move and let time and chance take care of the rest–as long as it’s not a situation where we are tempting God (as Satan tried to get Jesus to do by encouraging him to jump off the Temple).

A couple of passages in Ecclesiastes reminded me of this. Usually the prompting for us to do something unheard of, unusual, and just plain audacious for the Lord to impact others’ lives comes in the form of a God-glorifying thought that continues to bug us. Regardless of what scripture we read, the Spirit may directly or in a roundabout way repeatedly lead us back to the thought. Then that idea may come back again when we pray. And just when we thought we brushed it aside for good, someone may say something (believer or not) that brings the thought right back to the forefront all over again. If that should happen to us, here are some reminders to consider in Ecclesiastes:

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. Ecclesiastes 9:11

⁴ He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. ⁵ As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. ⁶ In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. Ecclesiastes 11

God is not always going to give us a prophetic word to lay everything out. He may be waiting for us to take a risk whether conditions are favorable or not. Even if we fail in our attempts, it may be that God will teach us something from the failure to lead us to success in the future. Thomas Edison had hundreds of failures before he had a successful invention. Famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright went bankrupt in his 60s after two major tragedies, but kept on designing and had a successful rebirth in his architecture career. Ultimately, the times of our lives are in God’s hand (Psalm 31:15).