Risk Assessment

It is nearly April, and I thought I might update you all (whomever you are) on the year's progress, 2010 being the Year of Living Dangerously. This involves resisting the urge to self-protect, particularly in situations where risk is necessary. The issue with this is that, however necessary it is to take such chances, this does not make them safe. As people, we desire safety, security, predictability. This is not life. We cannot predict the future, and we certainly cannot control all the extraneous variables in life...and yet, we still try to do so. We seek to assess the risk of a given situation and then act accordingly in whichever way seems most likely to protect us from harm. Do not misunderstand me; I am not saying that one should not check one's harness, anchor, and carabiners before going rock climbing--to not do so would be foolish. I would compare this equipment check to anchoring ourselves to the Lord with the full knowledge that He can and will protect and guide us. What I struggle with is when to take further measures to minimize risk out of fear. Fear is a powerful thing. It can keep us from taking chances when we most need to, to go out on a limb when it matters most. But what happens when we do take the risk, when we climb out on that limb, and then fall to the ground? It is reasonably certain that this will happen to all of us at some point in our lives. Alas! Not all of our risks will be rewarded with success. What do we do then? Allow this to exacerbate our pre-existing fears? Of course not. But the temptation to do so is there. Perhaps this is when we must return to the Lord, realizing that we cannot always understand what He intends for our lives. Much as I would wish this could be the case, it is simply not so. That must be what makes it faith.