SPIRITUALITY FAITH IS A RISK

FAITH IS A RISK

by Danielle Klooster

Risky Faith

If faith is not a passive abdication, but rather an active, powerful partnership that offers tangible results in my life and real experience, then how do I walk that out? What does that look like?

I’m glad you asked.

I’ve been in business full-time for eight years. In that time, I’ve found that whenever I let fear “drive the bus”, and, in a panic, I start grabbing at projects, more often than not, they aren’t what’s best for me. I might get the work, sure, but it can be tough slogging. Not the ideal client, not the ideal work. But, when I sit in surrender, in faith, and ask my Partner to show me the way and bring me what I need, He always delivers. The phone rings; the email comes in; an inspired thought comes through and it’s fulfilling, meets my need and offers me opportunities to learn and grow.

Some people think of faith as a passive activity, a giving up of one’s personal power and responsibility to some mystical force that is supposed to magically make everything turn out okay. That’s not how my faith works. Faith is not an abdication of power or responsibility, but rather, a form of partnership in my life with source, who has knowledge and information I don’t have, but who also, like me, has my best interests at heart

Don’t Make the Past a Roadblock

For some, a conversation about faith might make them break out in hives, if they have had negative religious experiences in the past. I, too, have had my share of unhappy and unhealthy religious encounters. In many ways, my misconceptions became roadblocks, leading me to cut off avenues of faith and spiritual relationship. Relearning to trust and be open spiritually, to make faith mine and not someone else’s version, has been a journey.

Another way that the past can be a roadblock is when we are disappointed by an apparent lack of answer, or undesired outcome, when we do have faith. For me, this leads to the old “I don’t want to get my hopes up, so I won’t be disappointed” line of thought. Don’t get me wrong: I have thought that way a time or two in my life, too. But I have come to realize that if I’m going to be disappointed, I’ll be disappointed whether or not I have gotten my hopes up – so why not hope? We go in the direction of our thoughts and we create the reality we believe in and for, so I choose hope. I choose faith.

I’m learning I must step out in faith and take a risk before I see things come into reality.

Go Fly a Kite

Running my business this way may seem counterintuitive, and it’s certainly counter-cultural. I mean, aren’t we supposed to sit with sharp pencils and plan everything down to minutiae? I believe in good planning. I just don’t believe in hustle and grind.

Let’s think of it like flying a kite. You build a good kite. Then you find the right spot, on the right day, with the right amount of wind, and you employ the kite-flying skills you have developed to get that kite up in the air. But once you’ve launched, is it you flying the kite, or the wind? It’s both. You need the wind, and the wind is helping you, but you have to take action, using your skill and experience, with the right tools.

Faith is like that. I need to do my part, but I need the wind. I could try and fly against the wind, but that would be exhausting and completely unsuccessful. Setting myself up for success means gathering the tools and resources, sharpening my skills, and then trusting Spirit to be the wind. When I lean into trusting Source, things move in the right direction.

Taking the Risk

I’m learning I must step out in faith and take a risk before I see things come into reality. Perhaps it’s me testifying to myself with my act of faith, and that’s the magic. Or perhaps it’s because faith is the essence of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And that requires risk.