I am continuing with the series from my new book, God’s Dream for Your Life. Today, we will talk about Confidence to Risk.
Before we get started, I have a question to ask you.
God has BIG dreams & plans for your life —
Are you living them?
I have developed a quiz to help you identify where you are on your journey and what might be your next steps. You can take the Quiz by clicking on the link below.
Quiz
Now on to the topic – Confidence to Take a Risk for God. This quote by T.S. Eliot will give you a little insight to the direction we are going today.
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”
We are positioned for the impossible every day! This seems like a dramatic statement; nevertheless, it is true. Just as Jesus went around doing good, healing the sick, defeating the enemy, multiplying food, so can we!
However, there are risks involved to walk as Jesus walked on this earth. We have to risk stepping out of our comfort zone, practicing what we have learned and be willing to make mistakes.
One of the reasons this seems risky is because we are experimenting with something new. However, the more we practice taking risks each day releasing all that God has given us, the more we develop our ability to do greater things.
In John 14:12-14, Jesus shares how we can have confidence to risk doing the same mighty miracles He did.
“I tell you this timeless truth: The person who follows me in faith, believing in me, will do the same mighty miracles that I do—even greater miracles than these because I go to be with my Father! For I will do whatever you ask me to do when you ask me in my name. And that is how the Son will show what the Father is really like and bring glory to him. Ask me anything in my name, and I will do it for you!”
Let’s break it down into three areas: Faith, Believing, Asking
1) Faith
First, we are to have faith in Jesus!
Most the time when I am following a prompting from Jesus, I am not exactly sure how it is all going to work out.
I’ll give you an example from my book, God’s Dream for Your Life, when God was asked me to step out to pray for someone.
“On one occasion I was running in the park, and I saw a lady with a cane sitting on a bench. Immediately, I felt a nudge to go and pray with her, but I decided to keep running. The intensity to go back was so strong; I finally turned around and asked if I could join her. Of course, I thought she needed prayer for her knees since she used a cane. When I asked if I could pray for her, she said she didn’t really need anything, but I could pray if I wanted to. As I started to pray God began to speak to me about her daughter, so that is what I prayed. Sure enough, she was concerned about her daughter and appreciated the prayer!”
Having faith in Jesus gave me the confidence to take the risk, and pray for this lady. Though I looked at what I thought was the obvious – a knee in need of healing, Jesus looked at her heart and gave her a word of reassurance — He was taking care of her daughter!
2) Believing
The word “believing” in the New Testament comes from the Greek pisteuō, which means to have confidence, to trust, and to believe to be true. Jesus is telling us believing unlocks the door to asking and receiving. Believing is being fully convinced in your heart.
When I think of the works Jesus did, it takes my breath away. Then when I take it a step further, and believe I can do the same works as He did — mind-blowing! I can heal people, I can multiply food, I can raise someone from the dead — the list goes on and on. Using your imagination or image center to imagine doing the works of Jesus will build your confidence. Mentally practicing helps us to know what to do before the opportunity comes.
We can use Jesus healing Simon-Peter’s mother-in-law as an example of how we can practice.
“He left the meeting place and went to Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was running a high fever and they asked him to do something for her. He stood over her, told the fever to leave—and it left. Before they knew it, she was up getting dinner for them.” (Luke 4:38-44 MSG)
Like Jesus, we can imagine standing over someone who is sick with a fever. We speak directly to the fever telling it to leave in the Name of Jesus. Then we imagine the fever gone and the person able to get up from their sick bed.
By practicing the different works in our imagination, saying the words out loud and seeing the results, it builds our confidence, preparing us for the next opportunity to do the work of Jesus.
3) Asking
Jesus invites us to ask Him for whatever, so He may show us what the Father is really like.
This following is from my book, God’s Dream for Your Life where I dig a little deeper into this.
“Now we get to the exciting part: the WHAT we can ask for and the WHY of His answer.
“For I will do whatever you ask me to do when you ask me in my name. And this is how the Son will show what the Father is really like and bring glory to Him. Ask me any- thing in my name, and I will do it for you!” (John 14:13-14 TPT)
“Just ask Me — whatever — just ask Me — and I will do it for YOU!”
What do we need to ask for? WHATEVER! You can ask for whatever. There is no hidden meaning in the word whatever. Whatever indicates limitless possibilities!
Why does Jesus answer your whatever?
Jesus answers our prayers to bring glory to the Father. See this! His answer to our whatever we ask in His Name brings glory to His Father. I am excited that Jesus extends the works and greater works offer to each of us by inviting us to ask Him anything, really anything. However, I have realized His offer comes with a caveat. The caveat being, what we are asking for will bring glory to the Father.
This is a win-win! So, when you ask Him, He will give it to you bringing glory to the Father while filling us with joy filled to the brim! Our request provides Jesus the opportunity to display the beauty, majesty and glory of the Father. Our request provides us with a cascading of joy flowing that can only come from Jesus.
Ponder with me for a moment.
Let’s imagine the celebration when our answer comes. Jesus brings honor, glory, and exaltation to the Father and in all the praise, comes an outpouring of joy into us. All the joy, clapping of hands, jumping up and down, shouting, dancing will be for one purpose: to direct all eyes, everyone’s attention to bring glory to the Father. He is the one who made it all possible!”
Jesus is opening the door for us to step out with confidence and take a Risk so the seemingly impossible can be made possible!
So — what is next? I want to issue a challenge to you.
Each morning before you start your day say to the Lord;
“I am available for whatever You have planned! I am willing to take the risk and put into practice what I have learned from You.”
And let me know what opportunities Jesus gives you to do His works. You can leave your comment on my Facebook page by clicking here: CindyStewart or send me an email at cindy@cindy-stewart.com
It is time to invest in you!
Have you read my new book, God’s Dream for Your Life?
Here are a few quotes from others who have read my book:
Learn to partner with God and move your dreams into reality. Did you know that God dreams of you walking in your identity? Whatever we can believe, we can achieve. Read Cindy Stewart’s book and unpack God’s dreams for you. Kay Ann
This was an excellent read. At first I was somewhat depressed because I realized that I had forgotten how to dream. I must say that this book stirs your spirit to bring those dead dreams back to life! It is a VERY interesting book full of examples from Cindy’s life. Partner with Jesus and Cindy to learn to dream again. You will not be disappointed with this book! Kathy W.
This book stirred my spirit and reminded me of how faithful and powerful God is ALWAYS! It lit my spiritual flame back to LIFE! Thank you Cindy for sharing your relationship with God with us! So grateful!!! Pamela C.
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Remember, You are the Best Investment You can Make!