Watch this video from the Chicago Cubs World Series win celebration in Grant Park last fall before reading this post.
The speaker is Theo Epstein, manager of baseball operations and the person given much credit for helping the Cubs grow into post-season contenders, and, after 108 years, World Series winners. In his remarks, Theo thanks Cubs supporters for trusting him even though his decisions were not always popular with the fans.
Living here in Chicago, I wrote a few weeks ago about how the Cubs needed to change their culture to become world champions. Part of culture change means taking risks and doing things differently. It means breaking the cycle of Einstein’s famous quote: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
And yet, breaking old molds and doing things in new ways often feels—and can be—risky. That’s where trust comes in. And that’s why Theo Epstein is reminding Cubs fans that it took some unpopular moves to get all 7 million of them into Grant Park celebrating their first World Series win in 108 years.
If winning the World Series was the Promised Land for Cubs fans, the Israelites’ journey in the Bible toward their own Promised Land has some things to teach us.
After a few months’ sojourn through the wilderness of Sinai, the people arrived at the edge of the land of Canaan, and sent 12 spies to check things out. They went to live for 40 days behind enemy lines, with no hope of calling in Black Hawk helicopters to extract them if things got tough.
When they returned, 10 spies are absolutely negative—they report the cities are impregnable and the men large and fierce like giants. They sum it all up with a telling metaphor… “we seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes.” Have you ever faced a problem or been in a situation where you felt that inadequate, that powerless? I know I have.
Two of the spies, however, bring the opposite report: “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” They see a land “flowing with milk and honey” and urge the nation to move forward. With God’s help, they can do this!
Now imagine. Here are 12 spies who for 40 days have sweated through the same dusty back roads together, hidden in the same fields analyzing cities through their binoculars, snapped pictures of the same army camps with their telephoto lenses, and hung out in the same marketplaces talking to the locals. Yet they bring opposite reports.
If you were standing there listening with all the Israelites, which group would win your vote? This issue of trusting and following God’s voice—even when risky—is what makes this story so contemporary and so critical for our lives.
The people rise up and say in response: “We wish we could have died in Egypt…or at least died in the desert. All our men will die in battle…all our women and children sold in the slave markets.” And God, ultimately this is all your doing! They go on to say: “Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?” Here we arrive at something absolutely critical to your and my spiritual well-being—their refusal to risk when God calls them to risk warps their perspective of God. God has done nothing but protect and care for them–yet now they see God as the enemy.
Caleb and Joshua, the two spies who brought back the positive report and urged the people to trust God, reply: “Don’t be afraid of risking; you don’t need to fear…just trust that the Lord is with us.” But the fundamental distrust has seeped so deeply into the peoples’ hearts they are beyond recovery.
- The people said, “We’ll never enter the promised land”…and now God says, “That’s right, you won’t.”
- The people said, “We should have died in the desert.” God now says, “That’s right, you WILL die in the desert!”
- The people said, “They’ll take our children as slaves.” God now says, “No, your children are the only ones who WILL enter the new land.”
The spies took 40 days and most came back with a fearful report that caused people to treat God’s protection and care with contempt. As a result, the people will wander for another 40 YEARS (not days) before they erase that disobedience and prepare to enter the Promised Land again. This cost for refusing to trust God and risk in answering God’s call is indeed high.
God’s call in our lives takes many forms, and, so also do the risks. God’s call can be anything from beginning a new career to stepping out of your comfort zone to talk to a friend about Jesus. And often, just discerning “Is this a genuine call of God?” is part of the problem. There are often no easy answers.
So, think about this question: what is your Promised Land? How is God involved? No one can enter the Promised Land God has for them without some blend of risking and trusting.
Question: How have you experienced this tension between trust and risk? Please share it in a comment.
Five years ago, my job was becoming increasingly problematic. I loved much of what I was doing and genuinely enjoyed most the people I worked with. My work felt meaningful, and my identity was very much tied up in my career. But the increasing demands due to a volatile boss, coupled with budget and personnel cuts, were making me irritable and tired by the time I came home. My son was getting ready to go to college, so that was a financial consideration, too. We’d lost a lot of money from our retirement investments due to the recession. I was praying a lot about a resolution to the situation. Could I trust God enough to provide for our finances and for meaningful work?
Out of the blue, my aunt, who works as a consultant, came to stay with us one night. This was the first time she’d done this in forty years. I told her I was thinking of retiring early and seeing if I could find work doing some type of consulting, but I wasn’t sure if anyone would need me, especially since I didn’t want to travel much. She pointed out some very specific things about the potential demand for my skills that I hadn’t seen. After about another month of prayer and consideration, I decided to retire.
The first few months were a little scary, but my relationship with my husband was almost immediately restored. I now work part-time as an instructional coach, and I genuinely enjoy it. The money was enough to pay college tuition, as well as some unexpected legal expenses that came up. I am constantly learning new things and meeting new people.
It was definitely a risk work taking. And I truly believe that God sent my aunt to minister to me.
Debbi, thanks so much for sharing your story. A great example of trust and risk!