I grew up on a farm. I learned about safety. But I also had a lot of adventures. I had a blast playing around the farm and in the woods. I didn’t have a lot of fear. Looking back, I think of “what could have happened” and shudder.

I wasn’t supposed to be outside without shoes. Generally, the rule was only enforced beyond the yard. I could understand that. There were all kinds of sharp objects around the barns and other buildings. My sister had stepped on a pitchfork once. I preferred bare feet. Still do. One day, I was playing in the yard, and a barn cat ran under the old porch. I “needed” to rescue him. One rusty nail and a tetanus shot later, I still hadn’t caught the cat.

I could have stayed in the house. We often stay in the safe zone. But what if we don’t take any risks? What if we’re not bold? We often seek safety. We want the people we love to be safe. There’s security in safety. Even those who thrive on adventure would prefer to be safe at the end of the adventure. We often want a thrill, but it’s a time-limited experience. We don’t live on the constant high of a thrill. We want an underlying, dependable foundation of security.

Where do you fall on the safety/adventure scale? Which do you prefer?

What unsettles you about the opposite end of the spectrum?

Living the life God intends isn’t safe. Read the Bible. He’s not a safe God. He’s a God of refuge. He’s a God of trust. He’s a God of dependability. But he’s not safe. Look around you. Life isn’t black and white. “Good guys” die young. “Bad guys” get away with some things. Or so it seems. We need to broaden our perspective. Even when we broaden our perspective, we can’t broaden it enough to see life from God’s perspective.

But we can know him better, and by knowing him better, even when we don’t understand, we trust.

We trust God enough that when we’re bold, we know we’re safe. Not the kind of safety we prefer perhaps…but safe in knowing who God is, the guidance he gives us to live the life he intends, and the provision he’s given us to live eternally with him because of our personal relationship with Jesus. If we choose it.

When we choose to play it safe, we’ll miss out on some opportunities God gives us to be bold in his name. When we’re bold for God, we’re safe in the security of his plan.

I’d rather be bold in obedience to God and not be safe by the world’s standards than shrink from the person he wants me to be.

What do you want? Listen to God’s guidance. Live by his rules. He’ll allow room for adventures. Enjoy the thrill!

And this is the boldness we have in God’s presence: that if we ask God for anything that agrees with what he wants, he hears us. 1 John 5:14