We Williamsons

The Theology of Risk

A Letter To A Friend and Mentor

Today, you get a little glimpse into a letter I wrote to a friend and mentor as I sort through my thoughts and feelings on leaving…again.

So. I have been thinking a lot about your question about counting the cost before doing a risky/difficult thing.  I think your question was impeccably timed because I’ve been doing a lot of counting the cost myself lately in regards to our move to Nepal. Yes, I know, I should have counted the cost a while ago when we first started this whole process, but I think that this is part of how I prepare in my heart to leave…I count the cost again and weigh everything out and go through the hard and painful process of asking God, “are you SURE this is what we’re supposed to be doing?!?”

As I turn these thoughts over and over in my mind and wrestle with the nagging fear that I am stepping into a colossal mistake, I keep coming back to this:
Taking a risk in life should always be about the WORK itself, not about who YOU are because of the work. It’s so easy for identity to get wrapped up in the risk. We want to prove that we ARE somebody because of what we can DO. But real change in us and in others happens when people come in humility to the work and look to serve God’s purposes, not their own.
 

When I start a new creative project (usually choreography), I am taking a risk. It’s a risk to my own ego if the project fails or isn’t received well. But I’m not living out the gifts put in me and the call on my life unless I follow the Work to it’s completion. In creative projects, I call this “following the ghost.” I am following the project where the work leads it, even if I don’t know what the final product will be. If I didn’t commit to “following the ghost” where the project was leading, I would end up never covering new ground or walking into uncharted land.

 
I recently heard a quote that said this:
 

“When you step into the unknown, you are positioning yourself to experience a new facet of who God is.”

 

AbbyBarnSmile

 
The risk we face and many times back down from is the risk of failure. The risk of appearing to have failed. The risk of having to say “This isn’t what I feel called to”, or “This isn’t working,” or “I don’t know, help me understand.” These are hard things to say. But they are necessary in taking risks that matter. There’s a difference between those guys who do crazy stunts for a thrill (unnecessary risks) and people who take a risk that matters. One might argue that deep down, many of us take unnecessary risks because they boost our ego or we have a core belief that we aren’t worthy unless we DO something that seems risky.
 
So I think the question becomes:
How do we know that we are called to something? How do we know we are taking the “right” risks that matter?
 
For me, I think the answer comes back to looking at the tapestry of my life. What are the things that have always mattered? What has God been speaking into my story over and over again throughout my life?
 

What is the work that has called my name countless times?

 

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What is it that sparks my heart and mind? How has God worked in the past? He’s probably continuing to reveal that same story…only perhaps in new ways. THIS is the uncharted territory that can be hard to walk into. The NEW ways He’s revealing the story.
 
So, are we willing to step into the chapter He’s writing right NOW? Even if it means we appear to others as if we’ve “failed”? (In some circles, asking for support looks like failure!) Are we willing to step into the journey of coming to the WORK with humility as we see where it leads?