What if the greatest risk you face isn’t what you think?

If we listed our current top five fears (or does concerns sound like more acceptable Christianeze?), I suspect most of us would have lists like this:

• Will I have enough money?
• Will that relationship work out?
• Will I find healing for this physical body I’m stuck with?
• Will the right people like and accept me?
• Will anyone find out that I’m actually an idiot?

Well, maybe some of us don’t worry about that last one as much as we should. But the reality is this: all but one of those fears is already in the process of fading away. The Apostle Paul said it best:

The things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18

For FaithWalkers, only relationships will last beyond our brief tour of this earth. And even those often come and go throughout our brief stay. How many of us lived our high school and college years consumed with what our peers thought of us – only to seldom, if ever, see them once we passed that season of life?

What Should Matter Most

The only relationship that will never fade is our relationship with God. Yet few of us would list “Will God be pleased with my life story?” as one of our pressing daily concerns.

Instead, we flip the order around and take a far greater risk in the process. We may sense God’s call to step out and follow a dream He has given us – but we fear not having enough money. Been there. Done that. Couldn’t afford the t-shirt. You can read more about my story with a click here.

We believe we should generously invite hurting people into our home, but fear what our spouse, children, or neighbors might think. We sense a stirring to speak the truth in love when we see injustice in the world, yet we keep our mouths shut because we don’t want to sound like the idiot we believe ourselves to be.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

You Can Live an Adventure

The greatest risk we face is none of the top five fears listed above. The greatest risk we face is of missing out on an eternal adventure, a chance to let our faith write a story so compelling it’s told and celebrated in places and times we cannot now imagine.

Yes, it will mean taking risks. No, it will not be easy. But, as I point out in A Story Worth Telling, there are far worse fates than living an uncomfortable life.

Adventure means groping through the thickest mists, braving the deepest valleys, and scaling the steepest cliffs in order to achieve what most say is impossible. Sure, it will be difficult. But let’s face it: the worst stories aren’t the ones with sad endings or tragic denouements. No, the worst stories are those that seem to lack any point at all.

They drift in random directions like soap bubbles, leaving us confused at best, bored at worst, but mostly just frustrated that we wasted time listening.

Don’t live a soap-bubble life. Take a risk. Get intentional about you believe to be true and then pour your heart into it.

Make your story matter. Start today.

Question: What risks are you taking – or thinking of taking – right now to live a story that matters beyond this moment? How will your story matter one hundred years from now? Share your thoughts by clicking here.

For a limited time, you can download a FREE chapter from my new book A Story Worth Telling: Your Field Guide to Living an Authentic Life before you can buy it on May 19, 2015. Click here to claim your free chapter and make your story matter.