The Thrill Seeker
I met Randy in 2001 at an investment seminar. Randy was from inner-city Boston. He grew up in the projects and talked with a thick, heavy Boston accent. He had recently completed seminary school and was back from a mission trip when I met him. He told me he left with his faith and a Bible and came back a changed man. As he describes, “he was gloriously ruined” as he saw a side of humanity that he had never before been exposed to: poor and desperate on the outside and rich and fulfi lled on the inside.

To this very day, Randy takes that picture of his trip with him everywhere he goes as a reminder that God has big plans for every one of His followers. Now in his fifties, Randy is a successful business owner. He owns and operates a real-estate business. He is a multimillionaire with a degree in theology. The key to Randy’s success has nothing to do with his theological background or “playing by the rules” of the world. His success is directly linked to his appetite for risk. Whenever Randy has heard God’s voice, he has dropped his selfish ambitions and run to wherever God sent him.

He has been all over the world on missions trips. He has operated work camps to help repair damaged homes. He has looked death in the eyes on numerous occasions, but nothing can puncture his faith. Randy takes great risks, and he has experienced one amazing story after another. I asked him how he was so fearless and he said, “Many people truly wish to find meaning in life. They look, but most do not listen. God is yelling, ‘Go here; do this; follow Me.’ Yet many do not hear His voice.” Why does God use some people and not others? Why do some Christians seem to experience an abundant or adventurous life while others suffer or seek safety?

The Leaping Difference
The difference that I have found with most in Randy’s shoes is they take a radical leap of faith. They don’t care what the economy is doing; they don’t bat an eye when the stock market is down 40 percent; they don’t worry about job security; they don’t stay up late at night wondering if they will ever retire. They take the leap when others pull back to a place of apparent safety. To those like Randy, a lack of risk translates to a lack of faith.

There are windows of opportunity that come and go before our eyes. It may be a job opportunity, a chance meeting, an investment opportunity, or something else that pulls you out of your comfort zone. Whatever it is, there are opportunities that can bring you to new levels in your relationship with God, your marriage, your career, and your finances. If you want to live a life of purpose and fulfillment in God, you must expect the supernatural from God. Status quo is a life of wasted potential. Sometimes people around you will think you’re crazy. Your family may think you went off the deep end. Your friends may laugh. But remember Noah? No one laughed at him when it started raining.

Taking risks can solidify your faith in God and help you grow.
I’m not saying to take foolish risks, but to step out where God is leading you. Playing it safe rarely leads to places God wants you to go. How do you take on risk when human fear persists? How can you find courage when the world mocks you and sells fear on the daily news? How can you take great risk like investing in volatile stocks or owning uncertain businesses when the world appears to be collapsing around you? Great men become great not because they are fearless, but because they take action despite their fears. Few investors or business owners will say they’ve never felt doubt or fear, but many will say overcoming doubt and fear led to their greatest successes.

Great risk-takers move forward even with fear. This allows them to experience the many blessings God had in store for them. Let’s say you’re running a race and you stop because you’re unsure of what lies around a corner just ahead–only to later discover it was the finish line that lay just around that corner. You could have won, but you stopped because of fear.

You can miss experiencing God’s favor when you sell yourself short and allow fear to overcome you. Those who succeed are often no smarter, no more knowledgeable about the Bible, and don’t have a better education. They succeed because they act despite their fears. It is as simple as that.

People like Randy are thrill seekers. Thrill seekers love growth. They look forward to overcoming difficult, challenging, or seemingly impossible tasks. They enjoy pulling them off. On the other hand, fearmongers hate change. They want the world to remain the same.

Don’t Settle For Less Than What God Intended for Your Life
Mediocrity is not only accepted it is encouraged because it feels safe. Fearmongers hate being challenged and want to be left alone. With these personas in mind, if God is, in fact, bringing into each of our lives windows of opportunity to act in faith, and if our lives really are determined by our response to these windows of opportunity and the level of risk we’re willing to take, how can ordinary people like us become great risk-takers? Some of us simply don’t like risk. I hate to break the bad news, but avoiding risk is not an option in the Christian life.

God understands that faith can be scary and that our sense of security feels threatened, but He didn’t give us any kind of “lite Christianity” with no risks added. There’s only one Jesus to follow, and you can’t follow Him without being willing to take radical steps of faith. So how do you break out of your comfort zone?

1. Refocus your fear. “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV).
2. Renew your faith. If people can’t trust God with their fi nances, they can’t step up to the plate in the spiritual things. We can say that we love God, go to church, and worship Him with tears in our eyes and our hands raised high, but if He doesn’t have our treasures, He doesn’t have our hearts.
3. Remember, God is faithful. Through Noah, He saved humanity. Through Abraham, He blessed nations. Through Mary, He delivered a Son who would change the world. Though we do not often deserve His mercy, grace, and forgiveness, we receive it still because of His faithfulness.

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