Initiative vs Unresponsiveness

This is WEEK 26 of the Character Development Series I am doing for 2012.  So glad you stopped by!   

“Do not lie in a ditch, and say God help me; use the lawful tools He hath lent thee.” — English Proverb

“An idea is worthless unless you use it.” – John Maxwell

“Initiative is doing the right thing without being told.” –Victor Hugo

“Lord, help me to begin to begin.” ― George Whitefield

Initiative means:
1. taking action to begin something, set something in motion
2. the power or ability to begin or follow through energetically, motivated.

Synonyms for Initiative: action, ambition, drive, gumption
Antonyms for Initiative: indifference, lethargy, sluggish, idle

What the Bible Says About Initiative:
Proverbs 16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Romans 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ
1 john 4:19  We love because he first loved us.
Proverbs 6: 6-8 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise. It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. 

Examples From The Bible:
1. Woman who touched the hem of Jesus (Luke 8: 40 -48)
2. 4 friends lower a cripple through the roof for Jesus to heal (Luke 5:18 -26)
3. Naaman took initiative by coming to Elijah for healing. When he followed God’s instructions, he was
healed (see II Kings 5).
4. Nehemiah took initiative to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 1-2).
5. The rich young ruler took initiative in coming to Jesus (see Luke 18).
6. Esther boldly went before the King on behalf of her people (Esther 5)

The Example of Jesus to Us:
Jesus embodied the initiative of God to reach out to the human race in love and to provide salvation for their lost, wandering souls.  Jesus was God’s bridge back to fellowship with the Creator and everlasting life.

Personal  Thoughts and Application:
As a therapist, I encounter many people facing the challenges and frustrations of becoming handicapped literally overnight because of a stroke.  It is amazing to see  the varying responses people have to such an enormous life altering challenge.  Always, it is the person with a deep seated drive and initiative to overcome who  makes the greatest strides.  The person with intiative understands that even small improvements every day eventually add up to bigger gains.
So it is with all of life …. action and perseverance is the key to change and to accomplishment.  Because of my competitive nature, I don’t usually have a problem with drive and ambition, but I do struggle with boring and mundane tasks and with projects that seem overwhelming.  It has helped me tremendously to apply the concept of  “a little everyday” that I see in my patients and apply it to my own life.  If I don’t have huge chunks of time to devote to a project at one time, I set smaller goals of time  such as 5 – 15 minutes a day.  This applies to cleaning, organizing, going through the mail, going through my emails, etc.  The important thing is to take some kind of action, get a start….BEGIN SOMEWHERE, and then persevere until it’s done, even if that means chiseling a little at a time.
Spiritually, it is also important to have iniative….take some time everyday to build your relationship with God and stay plugged in to Him so that He can use you and bless you.  Make sure that you do not waste your valuable time and other resources on tasks that are not of God’s will and purpose for you (even if they are good, charitable acts).  Seek His Will and follow through with what He asks of You.  If you lack any initiative and you know God wants you to act, pray that He will guide you and give you that initiative.

PRAYER FOR YOU:  May God give you the initiative to carry out the plans He has established for you to accomplish. May you take the initiative to seek Him daily and His will for your life.  When God asks some thing of you or gives you a worthy project, may you find that He will provide all needed resources and is simply waiting for you to make a move….and BEGIN.

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