Erwin McManus says that bold, daring discipleship is like a charging rhino. These huge animals can run fast, but they can only see about 30 feet ahead. There eyes aren't that good. Even so, they will charge when they want to. They might not know what's ahead, but they move with purpose and intensity.
I like that picture. God doesn't give us all the details, but he expects us to move ahead. If he is in charge, then we can trust him. As he leads us, we can go with confidence, even if we can't see that far ahead.
But that's where it gets tricky. How do we know where God is leading us? His most rewarding challenges require faith. We have to believe what we can't see. Sometimes we have to believe what doesn't seem to make sense.
When opportunities come our way, then, we have to evaluate them. We pray and ask for his leadership. We do the due diligence of gathering all the relevant information. We weigh the potential costs and benefits. We look to see if this fits the pattern of God's leadership for us in the past. We ask for godly advice. We seek his leadership in his Word.
Can wisdom be reckless? Was it reckless for Abraham to raise his knife to kill his son? It seems reckless to me, but it was exactly what God called him to do. It was also reckless for Peter to step out onto the water toward Jesus. God commanded Abraham and then stopped him from following through. Jesus invited Peter into the water when Peter asked permission. When Peter began to sink, Jesus bailed him out.
Both of these men experienced life more deeply because they trusted God and acted upon their faith. They could have decided to pray about it longer, but they just did it. They had the wisdom to know when it was time to act. That takes courage.
