Two Things We Need To Be Proactive
Will you do what others have done throughout their life and wait for things to happen?
Will you be proactive instead of inactive?
I don’t know, only they do.
Only we know ourselves.
I believe today’s complacency is tomorrows captivity.
Sitting on the sidelines waiting for things to happen cannot happen any longer. We cannot be a people that are looking for the pat on the back from our peers, but are looking to fight for something bigger than ourselves.
Even with today’s ISIS situation and another beheading, we can no longer have a “kumbaya” Christianity. We must be Christ-followers that are ready to fight an enemy. There is a war out there that is fighting against Truth, God’s Word, Holiness and Righteousness.
Jeremy Courtney is someone who is one of the most knowledgeable on this issue of ISIS, Iraq, Islam and Christianity. I urge you to take some time and read some of his posts. He knows there is a spiritual battle going on and how important it is for us as Christian to be proactive. We can pray, we can give, we can fast; there are things we can be doing to help.
But, that’s not the question. The question was what are you going to do next with your assignment?
You have three choices:
Be Proactive Be Reactive Be Inactive
The devil likes the last two!
Two Things We Need To Be Proactive
Walk around with people who will arm you for battle, not pat you on the back. I can say in my entire Christian walk I have learned more from sitting across the table with someone who I look up to or am mentored by. You may say I don’t have anyone that I can talk to or that can encourage me. Begin to pray. Ask God to bring people into your life who can be mentoring voices. Chances are God has already brought someone into your life that’s ready to be a voice of wisdom and encouragement. Pray for eyes to see.
Stop treating the Word of God as a butter knife. The Word is not to butter you up, but to produce a faith in you that is unstoppable. Most of us have heard the verse from Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. God's Word illuminates. It reveals to us the good and the bad, the wise and the unwise. It is the greatest tool in learning how to live the best possible life, free from the restraints of stumbling in darkness. God's Word is truth, plain and simple. We can have perfect confidence in the fact that His words are accurate and true. When followed, they guide us without fail in the paths that we need to walk. Sometimes though in our comfortable Christianity, in our feel-good churches, we forget what we hold in are hands.
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12
A sword.
Growing up in church a lot of us heard the song - Armor of God. Unlike all other pieces of the armor of God, which are solely defensive, the sword is uniquely suited for both defensive and offensive roles. A solid defense is invaluable, but the sword is the only way we can complete the work we have been given to do. We become proactive.
Swords are used for close combat, not long-range warfare.
The Romans relied in part on invading their enemy from a distance with javelins and darts, but God does not give us that option as Christian soldiers. If we were able to fight our battles from a distance, we would never experience an actual trial.
Paul only lists one weapon because we only need one weapon: There is no enemy the Word of God, coupled with His Spirit, cannot defeat. And so, armed only with our sword, we step out to fight our enemies head-on. The struggle is real. It is immediate, and it is in front of us.
Our future in God's Kingdom is on the line, and we take up the battle so that we may hold fast to the future He has promised us as we become proactive in our assignments.
So take up your sword because butter is bad for your heart anyway!
