April 22

5 comments

The Necessity of Risk…

By Michael Q. Pink

April 22, 2014

reward, risk

Get the picture… You have this field all plowed with straight furrows. Good soil. But the question comes… Will you take the risk to invest in the seed, plant it, water it and nurture it until harvest?

Shoots. Green lines in a field.
Risk carries the potential of great reward…

I believe the number one reason people have so much unproductive land in their life, and by that I mean, they have talents and skills, ideas and plans, assets and opportunities, but they are not getting much if any return from them, is because of this one word… RISK.

You see, every spring the farmer must take huge risk to get a reward of a harvest. And that’s a harvest that is not guaranteed. He has to wonder if this spring will be the year of the drought? Will it be the year of the blight or the locust or the floods? He doesn’t know and must commit his work to the Lord and trust Him for the outcome.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 says, “He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.” And because of this many, let their land lay fallow and go hungry. But it need not be so. If you want to break the cycle of poverty or lack, you will have to take risk.

Plant your seed, your ideas, your sweat and your equity in the fallow ground God has given you. That may be your sales territory, your neighborhood, your business idea, your passion that you are also good at. As my father uses to say, “You got to speculate to accumulate.”

Think of risk like this… R.I.S.K.

Reward

Risk usually carries with it the promise of reward. You must look at your own risk tolerance and risk / reward ratio in the context of your age, your other responsibilities, etc. No risk = no reward. That’s a promise from God’s Word.

Intelligence

You don’t take risk without intelligent consideration. And be sure to gather intelligence before you risk. Risk without intelligence gathering and intelligent consideration is gambling. That’s a fool’s game.

Skill

To increase your chances of success when you take a risk, stay with your skills. In other words, don’t start a dance instruction class if you have two left feet. What are you good at? What skill or talent has God gifted you with? When you take risk within your skill set you enhance your chance for success. Sometimes God will invite you to do something you feel totally unskilled at, but He will equip you when needed. Wasn’t it Moses who told God he didn’t have speaking skills so God allowed him to take Aaron when he went to Pharaoh? But guess who did all the talking? Moses!

Knowledge

By this I mean the reservoir of information you have about your chosen endeavor. Have you stored up knowledge? Are you a disciplined learner? Knowledge is like water. Are you taking it in daily? Do you seek to become an expert in your field? Expertise comes by taking in information, processing it and then applying it successfully.

This sounds like an exception but…

In 1988 I was struggling in a startup business when I heard the following words in a sermon… “Instead of asking God to bless what you’re doing, find out what God is blessing and do that!” So, right there in church I asked Him what He was blessing and He led me to a verse that has to do with blessing those who publish the gospel. I said, “Publish the gospel?!?!?! I don’t know anything about publishing. But if you give me an idea, I will do it.”

I went for a prayer walk and got the idea for what became known as The Bible Incorporated – In Your Life, Job & Business. It’s a 300+ page, pocket sized compilation of Scripture on 101 work and business topics in conversational form. I wrote the book and ordered 25,000 leather bound copies to my basement.

I had no idea how to do publishing or how to write a book, but I did have knowledge of the Word and a talent I didn’t know I had for publishing. The printer called me and asked if I was sure I wanted 25,000 books because 80% of the books printed in America never sell more than 5,000 copies and those publishers all have established distribution networks, warehouses and marketing expertise.

I prayed briefly and placed the order knowing that I was going to have to sell more than 5,000 books in the first 60 days just to be able to pay for the print run. Long story short, the book became one of the best selling Christian business books of all time receiving endorsements from Christian leaders like Jack Hayford and countless others.

Though the book is currently out of print, you can get the Kindle version on this link below, for which I will receive a small royalty. You on the other hand will receive a huge blessing.  Enjoy!

Michael Q. Pink

About the author

Michael is America's leading authority on applying Biblical Wisdom and Natural Law to sales and business and has authored 19 books including The Bible Incorporated, Selling Among Wolves and God's Best Kept Secrets. Using that knowledge, he has helped thousands of professionals and entrepreneurs experience radical transformation in their lives and careers, including helping a start-up with 3 struggling sales reps turn the corner and become the 16th fastest growing company on the INC 500 list. 

  • Hello, Mike…

    Our God took a risk when He made the first man and his wife with a freedom of choice. Thereafter the Fall, His redemption, and the new heaven and the new earth. In the gospels, The necessity of risk is also seen in the parable of the talents: the risk takers are blessed with joy and rewarded with abundance while the non risk taker suffer loss and is miserably separated from his Master. In this story, it appears that Christ gives significant value to risk taking.

    While this is true, it is easier said than done…that is why it really makes sense (or counter intuitive?) to become a risk taker for our Master, for it is also a walking by faith exercise. Thank you for your thought provoking subject; you made me stopped and think thru on where I am now in this journey….I wish to continue.

    More blessings, BenjieC.

    • Hi Benjie… There is no escaping the fact that we are called to a faith walk. As the writer of Hebrews says, it is impossible to please God without faith. And faith always involves the sense of risk! May God help you Benjie continue on your journey of faith and risk!

      Blessings!

  • I find this so true in my life. I am praying that the Lord will allow me to be more open to risks and less fearful. I love the quote about “Instead of asking God to bless what you’re doing, find out what God is blessing and do that!” I heard that on the Christian Wealth Building talks, and it really struck a cord with me. Thank you for the encouragement to walk where God is leading.

    • God bless you RaShell. Knowledge gives confidence. You and your husband are making good investments in your future. Be sure to pick out things that you can apply and determine HOW and WHEN you apply them. Begin with baby steps, but begin.

      Blessings!

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