Loosen up and take a risk - you never know what you might discover!

Today is the feast day of St Matthias, the man who replaced Judas Iscariot as one of the 12 Apostles, after Judas died. He was chosen by casting lots - not unusual in the ancient world, and a way of allowing God to have the final say.
It would be interesting wouldn't it, if our MPs were chosen like this! But the modern world, of course, does things rather differently. In commerce, look at how a whole industry has grown up around the task of recruitment. Matching the right person to the right job is big business, and a lot of time, money and effort's invested in making the right choice.
Generally, we like to have a lot more control over our choices, and would rather not leave things to chance. Chance is risky, leaves us vulnerable, who knows what might happen. The more we can control, the safer we are.

So in some places our children rarely go out to play, or we spend years of our lives longing for something different we haven't got, or we are so cautious as to keep our assets and our hearts safely locked away. The more we try to control, the sadder generally we are.
Choices must, of course, be responsibly made, with others in mind. But allowing ourselves, and others, a little slack, taking a step beyond the margins of our self-imposed restraints, could do wonders for our relationships, our work and our inner selves.
After all, it was chance that discovered penicillin, chance that revealed Australia to Captain Cook, chance that you are you and I am I.
Or perhaps not simply blind chance - there's always room for you, Lord God, to have the final say. Help us to loosen our grip a little, to take a risk, and discover ourselves, and maybe you, in the process. Amen

Sharon Grenham Toze - BBC Prayer for the Day

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