Risking Failure

Monday, March 10, 2014




If we want to continue to grow, especially in Christ, then we must continue to risk failure.

Uganda
During the six hour drive from Kampala to Gulu there was a lot of reading and staring out the window. I absolutely love looking out the window while traveling; I am not trying to let Gods incredible creations pass me by while I'm too busy taking a nap. My attention bounced back and forth from Uganda's sweet landscape to a book from the New York Times Bestsellers list; the author just so happens to have started an organization in Uganda a few years back. Some time during the trip I decided that I was going to contact the author, or at least try to, and ask him for some direction. It was a bizarre idea, a little risky asking for something from a stranger, but I had nothing to lose. Only one of two outcomes could result; he would either respond or he could not respond. This little plan could fail completely or it could not. 
Last night, after finding the authors email address I began to type out my message to him. I'm a strong believer in catchy email subject titles, how else are you going to stand out in a list of numerous unread emails? I decided on titling it with a question joke, saving the punch line for email body. Risky move? Yeah probably. But that's me and if this guy had a sense of humor then there was a possibility of this email getting read. My email may have sounded a bit silly but I believed it was worth the risk.

I woke up with a unread reply from the author; I found his quick response time incredibly impressive. Turns out that he couldn't exactly point me in the direction I was looking for but he then proceeded to tell me that him and his team would be and Gulu next weekend and would be happy to meet with me. The dude seriously just one-upped me. I was simply asking for some advice, some thought, some help from a complete stranger and he pretty much said I'll do you one better. This author didn't just want to help me, he wanted to meet me.
It made me think a lot about how God works. I think there are times when we think we are taking a big risk, but in reality we're actually playing it safe. I could have told that author how I loved his book and had a lot of respect for him. I then could have emphasized how cool it would be to get the chance to meet him. But I didn't. I simply asked for some direction without really expecting a reply back. I've seen this play out specifically in my prayer life. If I'm being completely honestly with myself I can admit that in the past there were times when I sought out direction from God without really expecting a reply back, possibly thinking somewhere in the back of my mind  it's okay if God doesn't get back to me on this, He's a busy guy with a long list of emails. I was limiting a completely limitless God. Thankfully over the last few years I've learned that God is a one-upper kind of dude when we have faith, He wants us to risk the human logic of our request, decisions, and even reasoning for His sake; He wants us to ask the crazy, outrageous, unimaginable prayers instead of beating around the bush because God is so able to blow our stinking minds, if we allow Him! It can be seen over and over again through out the bible, Gods power. And like the author, God doesn't just want to help me He wants to meet me where I'm at; He says "I want to give you direction but first come, let's figure this out together." 

2 Kings 4:1-7