It is certainly possible to be struck by lightning. And it’s only wise to take reasonable precautions in a thunderstorm. All the same, we don’t generally organize our life around the possibility of being struck. And it seems a similar approach is needed with the many other uncertainties of life.
On the one hand, it’s foolish to completely disregard the risks and dangers of life. There’s no wisdom in simply being a careless daredevil. God has given us the ability to reason and plan – safeguarding our life and those he has entrusted to us.
At the same time, he has not given us a spirit of fear. As such, we’re to navigate the uncertainties of life with a courageous faith. This is not pretending bad things can’t or won’t happen to us, but it’s not organizing our life around the fear that it will.
To be sure, economies can tank, marriages can go south, and our health can fail. There’s uncertainty in every area of life. And, of course, we seek to be wise stewards and not take what we have for granted, or to otherwise allow our carelessness to be the cause of its demise.
But this doesn’t mean we should retreat from all of life and relationships because of the fear of failure or death. Nor do we believe the lies that we can prevent all harm if we can just follow the life prescriptions others try to sell us – capitalizing on our fears.
We must learn to live life thoughtfully, accepting the risks that come with it but not carelessly allowing avoidable harm. This is the life of faith – exercising the freedom and wisdom God has given us while trusting that our lives are firmly in his hands.
In the end, many dangerous things are possible in this life. And fear is seductive. But don’t buy what fear is selling. Live wisely and with a bold and courageous faith.
Photo by Basil Smith on Unsplash
