“For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed and to be annihilated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the trouble would not be commensurate with the annoyance to the king.” Esther 7:4
Beloved,
Risk is a combination of threats and vulnerability. Well, it doesn’t matter whether you are a believer of Christ or not we always face life-threatening situations, depression, and vulnerabilities. In these situations, we are challenged to either face them or accept them. I am yet to read about any God’s servant in the Bible that did not face a situation that threatened their lives, existence, and sustenance. Remember you are most tempted in the areas of your vulnerability.
Let’s now see some generals in the Bible that faced life-threatening risks and how they responded:
- Elijah was faced with the threat of death. He took cover and ran away. It was both a political and spiritual threat. He even asked God to take his life (1 Kings 19:4).
- Jonah similarly faced a death threat and even volunteered to die by being thrown into the sea. So many of us have volunteered to be the national stadium of the evil’s playground (Jonah 1:12).
- Moses was faced with a difficult challenge of returning to a high court after being labelled ‘wanted’ in Egypt. A convicted criminal and appearing before the super power with the most organized system in the world (Exodus 3:11).
You could imagine these situations faced by God’s prophets, so tough and life-threatening. You know, part of my profession, is managing risks. I have looked at ways to address risks and draw it to the supreme work of Jesus Christ who is the greatest example that managed our risk. In these four ways to address risk, Jesus Christ:
- Tolerated our risks in that “while we were still sinners Christ came and died for us”
- Terminated our risk by taking away our sins. He said on the cross “it is finished.”
- Treated our sin by using his blood which is the most potent drug with no side effects.
- Transferred our risk by becoming the collateral and our ‘A’ class insurance
I invite you to depend on Jesus Christ. He is the author and finisher of our faith. As the songwriter says “there is no mountain he will not kick out and no shadow he will not light up coming after you.”