“Fear? What a sissy topic.” I quickly brushed by the display advertising Fearless, Max Lucado’s new book. Sure, I’m learning to trust God in ever-changing ways as He leads me through this adventure of life that is so different than what I’d had in mind. But I couldn’t think of what I was afraid of that would create my need for such a read. I mean, pshh, come on, it’s not like I’m afraid of the dark anymore. Err, well, I didn’t think I was.

Then God–in his divine wisdom–placed me in a beautiful home with large, curtainless windows on a hill in middle-of-nowhere Texas. I was house and dog-sitting for a week by myself. The scene was breathtaking every evening as the sun made the trees’ leaves glow from its warm beams just before it went to sleep behind the horizon. But then it was dark.

Regardless of how many lights I switched on in the house or around the porch, I knew if someone or something was outside, he/she/it could see every move I made through those curtainless windows and plan an attack. At this moment reason might have come into play to remind me the chances were ridiculously slim of someone wandering around in the middle of the night onto that ranch with the goal of harming me or entering that home, but my imagination didn’t care. I was afraid.

Ernest Goodman says people put countless amounts of time and money into protecting themselves from scary things, regardless of their likelihood of existence. While pondering my childlike mentality in my own self-created terrifying situation, God reminded me that regardless of what I may think to be true, I need to trust Him to protect and provide. He is bigger, He knows best and nothing else matters–even the possibility of being watched in the dark.

The more I thought about it, I realized fear also rears its ugly head in my risk-taking for the sake of the Kingdom. What have I been a chicken about doing for God lately, that really boils down to me not trusting my King? A friend needs my paycheck more than I do–am I going to give it to him and trust God to help me make my car payment? God’s given me this idea to impact my community in a new way–can I step up and out of the norm to let God make it happen through me? When God says it’s time to pack things up and head overseas to be his light there–will I?

We find multiple gutsy people in the Bible: David, Esther, Rahab, etc. Grady Bauer says he finds comfort in the example of Joseph’s risk taking that didn’t always result in coming out on top. Yet he still took risks.

C. Holland points out people often avoid taking a risk thinking, in turn, they’ll know the outcome in their situation. Almost anyone can look at personal life experiences to testify this is not always true. In fact, one might argue you have more security in taking the risk God has called you to than not, believing God will watch over you and use your obedience for his glory versus stepping out of his best plans for you through disobeying.

Bauer says we have two options in life: Playing it safe or taking risks. (Being afraid of the dark or running out into it.) “Conform, be numbed down, slowly die and possibly still end up screwed in the end or … engage the dream, come alive, tell a story, help change the world, live a life others are secretly jealous of and leave the results to God. None of us are promised a tomorrow. None of us have 100 percent job security. None of us know whether playing it safe will turn out like we hope. I’d rather live and take the risk.”

Me, too.