One of my favorite Narnia quotes is the following: “Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king I tell you.” (CS Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe).
As I sit here in this Bangkok hostel and reflect on the first half of my Wold Race, I am thankful that the Lord hasn’t called me to a safe life…but into an abundant and good life. I’ve remained physically safe throughout the Race by the goodness and grace of my Father. However, sickness, accidents, and natural disasters have all affected those close to me in the Race and very well could have touched me as well. Spiritual danger has come close to those on my teams and squad. It has come close to me as well. The past month in Malaysia, my team lived in a former brothel. The spiritual warfare was intense and I believe has lingering effects. However, God taught us to praise Him, pray to Him, and build one another up. It was a time of greater unity and rich fellowship for our team.
However, the safety that Narnia speaks of isn’t always about physical or spiritual danger. Oftentimes, it is about something we don’t like to think about too much: risk-taking.
My squad mentor asked us, “What is one risk you can challenge yourself with in this second half of the Race?” Many of us (not just “racers”) could come up with various risks. For some, it could mean sharing the Gospel with a stranger. What would you risk? Humiliation, rejection, mockery, persecution. What could you gain? A new brother or sister in His Kingdom. Worth the risk? I think so. My team took two memorable risks in Malaysia regarding this. Both people we shared with risked much by meeting with us. However, both are closer than ever before to knowing and trusting Jesus for salvation. Praise Him!
For others, it could be the risk of accepting a job offer that takes you across the world, away from close family and friends. However, you know that it is an opportunity to reach a workplace for Christ.
For others, it could mean accepting that marriage proposal/making the proposal or even accepting/extending that first date invitation. It could not work out, but it could also be the beginning of a marriage that brings Him glory and advances the Gospel.
For others, it may mean boarding that airplane, with 50+ people who will become your squad family, to travel around the world and encounter sickness, disease, poverty, sex slavery, spiritual emptiness, abuse, natural disasters, accidents, death, injustice, and lostness firsthand.
That’s what I did. That’s what my P Squad family did. And it has been worth every heartbreak, every tear, every cough, every rumble, every sleepless night. Because He is worthy to be called into the unknown and the unsafe. I call it the glorious undoing that leads to the glorious unfolding of the glorious unknown.
He may not be safe, but He is good.
