My dream bike is a 2008 Harley Davidson Sportster 1200 Nightser with a custom pink/black paint job. It fits me perfectly. In all my excitement, I talked about buying a motorcycle for a week. To my surprise, almost everybody I mentioned it too frowned at me and said, “Do you know how dangerous that is?” My mother actually yelled at me for even THINKING about buying a bike. I believe the term she used was “death on wheels!” But as it turns out, chances of me dying on a motorcycle are less likely than something like a brain aneurism or a heart attack. Tonight’s life event reminded me, this life isn’t guaranteed. In the blink of an eye, it could all be gone.
Psalm 4:8
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makes me dwell in safety.
Proverbs 30:5
every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
Tonight, I got a phone call that shook me to the core: a friend had a brain clot the size of an orange. A young 27 yr old mother of two, she was at home with the kids when she started to feel funny and her husband called 911, “just in case.” Always healthy and in shape, no one could foresee what was really happening. In moments, she was in the hospital for immediate brain surgery: her life hanging on by a thread. I think what shook me was that she was my age…a couple years younger, infact.
How come no one warns us about brain clots? So, if at any moment, life could change, why are we living it as if it weren’t? Why are we playing it “safe” when safety is but an illusion?
Or is it????
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. –Psalm 138:7
True safety isn’t an illusion. There is always a refuge to be found in God. There is always a shield He can provide. His word and His Arms are our haven. And when it comes to life, the only REAL safe place is in the will of God.
Anything in this life can happen to us, even hurt us. To walk out the door is risky. To walk across the street could mean death. Each morning we wake up, we face uncertainty and risk. I, personally, cannot imagine living my life with uncertainty. It would be draining and unbearable. I need something certain, something steady, something unchangeable so that I can get out of bed in the morning. And that something is someone: God.
Unfortunately, many see believing in God as weak. I’ve heard someone teach that faith is spelled R. I. S. K. I have to agree. Believing in something unseen is risky. Acting on something impossible seems reckless. Stepping out of your safety zone into unknown territory is scary. But in God’s plan, faith is vital to survival and key to our relationship with Him. In God’s plan, taking a risk on His behalf isn’t risk at all. In fact, risk is an illusion in the minds of His slightly-fearful children.
Tonight’s scare has me convinced more than ever that the greatest risk we will ever take is not believing in God’s love and the message of His son Jesus. In the end, we leave the world with nothing but our spirit, just as we came in. So why waste any more time in the “safety” zone of life when faith should drive us to step out of our comfort zone and dare to make a difference?
Dare to live with purpose…
Dare to believe…
Dare to trust in the word and promise of the living God.
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