Taking Chances In Life

The first man to climb Mt. Everest might have seemed to be an unlikely candidate to many people. Edmund Hillary had lived as a simple beekeeper in Auckland, New Zealand. Deep within him, however, was a lofty goal along with a determination and desire that refused to be stifled.

On May 29, 1953 he scaled the highest mountain then known to man. It was a very dangerous mission, but his courage and determination carried him 29,000 feet straight up, all the way to the top. He took his chances and reached his goal. He was even knighted for his accomplishment.

Don’t think that a man like Sir Edmund Hillary is a totally different sort than you. He isn’t. Great successes come naturally to few of us. Like most of us, Hillary had to grow into his success. He tells his own story in his book, High Adventure. Hillary described how in 1952 he attempted to climb Mount Everest, but failed.

A few weeks after his failed attempt a group in England asked him to address its members. Hillary walked on stage to a thunderous applause. The audience was recognizing an attempt at greatness, but Edmund Hillary saw himself as a failure.

He moved away from the microphone and walked to the edge of the platform. He made a fist and pointed at a picture of the mountain. Then he loudly cried out, "Mount Everest, you beat me the first time, but I'll beat you the next time because you've grown all you are going to grow... but I'm still growing!"

Hillary had tapped into a truth that each of us need to understand. Where we are today doesn’t have to be the final word on where we will be in the end. Resident within you as a Christian is tremendous capability through Jesus Christ. Have you considered that your highest accomplishments may still lie ahead in your future? An important key in fulfilling the God-given plan for your career is to know that you are a great piece of work and still in process.

Taking risks is not about self-confidence, but about confidence in the One who indwells us . Once we see the Divine purpose in our endeavor, trust our hearts and determine to go forward with enthusiasm, His Spirit will cause the pieces to fall together in the way that fits His plan perfectly.

To advance, you must be honest about whether you are willing to take risks or tend to always play it safe. Your God guides your steps. He has everything already planned. There are feats waiting to be realized that were planned for you before you were even born.

The problem with most people isn’t that they are impulsive. To the contrary, many are so afraid that they might act impulsively that they fail to act at all. How many things go undone because people won’t take a chance? When is the last time you took a chance?

Are you worried about making a mistake? Just like the most flavorful steaks are marbled with fat, the greatest opportunities you will ever have will be interspersed with the potential for great failure. Seldom does the opportunity to make great strides forward not also come with the risk of failure to a magnitude that we don’t even want to imagine. Remember, though, that where there is no room for doubt, there is no need for faith.

The sultry sirens of the status quo beckon us to lie back and be passive. The call to those who want to live with a grace-empowered lifestyle is to rise up in the power of the Life that indwells you. Take chances, knowing that your Father guides you in your every thought and action as you depend upon Him.

It isn’t your responsibility to make sure that things turn out the way you want. Your only assignment is to live boldly and move forward into the unknown, knowing that there is no such place for the omniscient God who leads you forward. He has already gone ahead of you, preparing the way to ensure that you experience all that He has for you in every area of your life.