If you have read some of my previous blogs or know me, then you know that I struggle with being fearful of situations that are out of my control. I get scared of doing things that could lead to me getting hurt. So, I try to logically plan my every step and control areas of my life to prevent that from happening. In doing all of this, I don’t give God much space to come in and move how He pleases. After many self- awareness realizations, I dug the root of that out to 3 significant points in my life where I was hurt by circumstances out of my control.
I thought once I identified the source that it would be fixed. That’s how it works, right?!
Wrong.
After I gave those soul wounds over to the Father, He invited me on a physical journey of freedom, adventure, and risk. Instead of always controlling things in my life, He asked me to do the opposite by putting myself into risky situations daily. As nervous as I was, I started praying that God would bring me opportunities for growth that scare me. Definitely not an easy prayer!
A few examples of how I have been taking risks are;
- Every week, I ask the Lord to show me strangers to go strike up conversations with.
- The other day, I sat outside and read a book as 2 wasps swarmed around me. That’s a big deal for me!
- Every month, I try to focus on a different form of worship.
- Last week, I applied to squad lead for World Race Gap Year.
- Saturday, I was at a cookout and I decided to run across some hot coals from the grill a few times.
While some of these examples may seem silly, they are outward expressions of the work Christ has been doing in my heart. When one of my coworkers found out that I had run across the hot coals, he was shocked and said, “Morgan, you did that?! I am just surprised, because you are usually so cautious.” As much as I resented that comment at first, he was right.
A few months ago, I would have stood back shaking my head at the person who ran over hot coals without a grizzly bear chasing them. However, I couldn’t help but smile victoriously as I rubbed Aloe Vera on the bottom of my toes. I may have got burned, but I took a risk and there is such freedom and fulfillment in that.
The truth is that if we don’t put ourselves in situations where we can get hurt, rejected, or opposed then we probably aren’t fully stepping into the things God has for us. We need to place ourselves in positions where we have to fully depend on the Father daily. We need to run full force into the things that scare us. We need to take risks.
When the last time you did something that scared you?
Ask the Lord to reveal areas of your life that He is calling you to take risks in.
You will be surprised at how much you gain by losing control.
As Jordan Alessi would say, “You gotta risk it for the biscuit.”
