Risky Actions because . . .
- How important is it for us to love others?
- When prompted by the Holy Spirit of God, how important is it that we trust God?
- Have we ever been afraid and said: “No, Lord”?
- Can we really call our Savior “Lord” and within the same breath say: “No” to whatever He is calling us to?
The LORD GOD is quite able to accomplish, to act, without our assistance. HE does not really need us (you and me). Nonetheless, HE places thoughts on our hearts, actions we are to take. These are RISKY ACTIONS because they cause us to fully trust HIM, and as we do—
What we accomplish occurs based on God’s grace & His help.
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
(The Letter of Paul to the Romans 11: 33-36 NAS)
How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR?
Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN?
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”
Go with me, within our remembrance, back to the Old Testament book of Exodus. Recall how the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea. The LORD did not magically transport them across the raging Red Sea; no, HE led them across to the other side by going before them through the dry bed of the sea. God opened the sea; God did His part.
Then the children of Israel did their part; they walked across to the other side—by Faith.
- They were able to take a risk, leaving the captivity of the Egyptians, walking toward the freedom they sought.
- They were able to take a risk, even when hemmed in on three sides (the mountains on either side and the waring Egyptians thundering up behind them), when crossing the dry seabed of the Red Sea.
- They were able to take a risk, even when God’s servant Moses asked a godless pharaoh.
“He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty;
(Exodus 14: 25 NAS)
so the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel,
for the LORD is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”
Again, go with me, within our biblical memory, back to The Book of Nehemiah, to another book found in the Old Testament. Remember how God’s servant, a man who had a close connection to King Artaxerxes, Nehemiah was the one commanded to taste the king’s food and drink, testing to see if had been poisoned. Allow that to sink in for a moment. Nehemiah “was the cupbearer to the king.” (The Book of Nehemiah 1: 11b)
- IF an enemy of the king had infiltrated the king’s kitchen &
- IF the enemy had overtaken the cook. &
- IF the enemy slipped in some arsenic to poison, to kill the king—then the king’s servant (Nehemiah) would taste it first!
Truly, Nehemiah was a valued servant & he lived—by Faith.
Nevertheless, the LORD had placed something on His servant Nehemiah’s heart. The walls surrounding Nehemiah’s beloved city were crumbling down and city gates had been burned with fire. The city had been infiltrated, and the ones who had survived had no protection from other enemies who came to attack.
“When I heard these words,
(The Book of Nehemiah 1: 4 NAS)
I sat down and wept and mourned for days;
and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”
Nehemiah heard & immediately sat down & wept. God’s servant mourned & fasted & prayed to “the God of heaven.”
We must trust God AS WE PRAY, but that does not mean we stop walking, stop working, stop going, stop doing, or stop loving our neighbors.
- We consistently PRAY, seeking God’s direction.
- We consistently STUDY GOD’S WORD, seeking God’s direction.
- We consistently FOLLOW THE LEADING OF HIS HOLY SPIRIT, seeking God’s direction.
Nehemiah, the child of God was able to follow the LORD’S leadership because he walked forward in faith.
- He was able take a risk when he asked the king’s permission to travel to Jerusalem to rebuild that which had been destroyed.
- He was able to take a risk when he sought letters from the king, letters for Nehemiah’s protection and letters for the building timber from the king’s own forest.
- He was able to take a risk, even when asking a godless king.
“And the king granted them to me
(The Book of Nehemiah 2: 8b NAS)
because the good hand of my God was on me.”
- We too are able to step into RISKY ACTIONS the LORD places on our hearts, actions we are to take because they cause us to fully trust HIM.
- When we step out in FAITH—What we accomplish is based on God’s grace & His help.
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
(The Letter of Paul to the Romans 11: 33 & 36 NAS)
How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
. . .
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”