Are You Willing to Risk It All to Follow God?

What would you do if God called you to risk it all? 

Hop into imagination station! 

Imagine walking one clear direction. Your life’s mission is to get to this one thing. You’re aimed and set. Then a dear friend comes and tells you that you are going the wrong direction. Your friend promises to lead you the way you should go but where you’re going is a surprise. They blindfold you, take your hand, and off you go. 

You trust and follow. 

Ok. Let’s talk.

What questions are you asking? 

• What about the original path? 

• What about everything I built?

• What’s going to happen from here? 

• Did I understand correctly?

• Did I hear clearly?

How do you feel?

Disoriented, confused, maybe even scared. Do you feel like you are risking it all? If yes, perfect.

Sometimes God calls His people to risk it all. 

The stability. The money. The plans. The relationships. The COMFORT.

He becomes Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C. Ain’t no backup plan. You’re banking on Him to come through. 

Let’s Look at Abraham’s Story

Abraham is the perfect example of this point. He is the Father of Faith. He left everything he knew to follow the voice of the Holy One. Did everyone understand? No. Did he still follow? Yes. 

Were there bumps along the road? Definitely. 

God called Abraham to risk it all on multiple occasions. 

He told him to leave his family and home. He told Him to wait for a child with his wife in their old age and their best years were gone. Later, He told him to sacrifice the child of promise. 😒 The list goes on but I will stop here. 

Had Abraham not obeyed, he would have missed the blessing of the Lord and WE would not know him. 

I want to look back at some scripture to bring this home. 

The Call of Abraham was much like the ones you and I will receive.

“The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.

So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.”

Genesis 12:1-2, 4 NLT

It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.”

Hebrews 11:8-9 NLT

God called Abraham to leave EVERYTHING. The house, the family, the wealth, and the security. I love Abraham because he did not pretend like he did not hear God. He did not run, nor did he hide. 

He risked it all to BLINDLY follow God.

Hebrews 11 says he did not even know where he was going. I just want to park here for a second. For many of us, this will be the path. Saying yes to God rarely means that you and I have the plans or the answers. But it does mean that we are following the One who does. 

Why is it so hard to follow God?

It is hard to follow because we become too attached to our own plans. Somehow we believe that God must co-sign our plans and ideas. So when He redirects us, it’s painful and sometimes even dramatic. Think of it like this. Imagine trying to mold a hardened clay pot. In order to remold it, you’d have to break it and drench it. Whereas, soft clay can be molded and shaped because it’s already malleable.

We need to be malleable. Willing to move and flow as the Holy Spirit leads. 

I love James 4 which basically says our plans mean nothing. Rather than planning we should submit ourselves to the will of God daily. 

How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”

Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.

James 4:14-16 NLT

It’s easy. If He wills it, we will do it. If not, we won’t.  

Abraham was successful because he spent his  life following the voice of God even when it was inconvenient. 

What did Abraham’s obedience earn him?

Righteousness. Faith and obedience earned him righteousness. 

“And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

Genesis 15:6 NLT

Abraham received an earthly inheritance and an eternal reward simply because he believed God. 

Abraham was not the only one who had defining moments with God to obey or to disobey, to risk it all or to remain comfortable. Many of our heroes of the faith were presented with the same choice. Think Moses, Elijah, and most importantly Jesus Christ. 

These people chose to go with God EVEN IF it meant losing everything they held dear. And while the loss was painful at the time, God made it worth it.

They are now with the Father reaping an eternal reward.

So I just want to encourage you. If you are a person who God has called to risk it all, do it. Don’t hesitate. His plan is the best plan. 

He will make it worth it.

Love you,

Ayanna