“The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Stand up! What are you doing down on your face?’” Joshua 7:10
There is a time to pray, and there is a time to act. There is a time to listen, and then there is a time to do. There is a time to weigh your options, and there is a time to choose what’s best at the time. Prayer gives you clarity on what needs to be done, and faith gives you courage to follow through.
If you know what to do but are still praying about it, you are praying extra, useless prayers. There is no need to delay your decision anymore. Do not hide behind the need for prayer. God’s Spirit has made clear to you your next steps. Now is the time to act. It may be confronting a friend over their path of destruction. It may be resigning from your job. It may be breaking off a relationship. It may be a short-term mission trip overseas. It may be a phone call, an e-mail or an in-person visit seeking forgiveness.
Whatever God has already told you to do, do it quickly. There is no need to delay the inevitable. You are better off dealing with this sticky issue sooner than later. If you wait any longer, you will allow anger to permeate your thinking. Obsession with someone or something other than Christ will distract you from God’s best. Now is the time to stand up and move forward in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Push fear aside. You cannot control the response of the other person or the fallout from the confrontation. But, you can rest in the fact that the Lord is leading you through this process. As you communicate, He will give you the words to say, in the right spirit. Yes, there are times it is easier to pray than to act, but prayer without action is presumption on God. So get up from your passive posture, and translate your prayers into gracious and passionate obedience.
Standing up does require faith. The level of faith that brought you to this point will not “cut it” going forward. Faith needs are fluid. For this next stage of living you will need a larger beaker of belief. Leverage off your faith that led you to Christ, but do not stay there. Stand up and move forward in the power of the Holy Spirit. God has prepared the way. Set fear aside. Place it back in the closet of intimidation and shut the door. God has great things in store for you, but it requires greater faith to stand up and move forward.
Yes, there are unknowns that sometimes haunt you, but this is when God shines the brightest. It is on the cloudy course of uncertainty that God’s Word illuminates your path. Read, believe and act on His Word. This is your assurance. Remaining where you are is not an option. We are either growing by faith in Christ, or we are regressing in fear. There is no middle ground. If you stay put in passivity, you will digress in discouragement. Your step of faith may be the very thing needed for others to do the same. Your life is a catalyst for Christ-centered living.
Yes, there is a battle to be waged, and sometimes the enemy infiltrates into your own relational ranks. Do not underestimate his influence. He may even use his “Christianity” as a badge of deception. Do not be intimidated by his lies. Stand up to “sin in the camp” with truth. The truth of God cannot be bought or used for selfish purposes. Rather, it is a cleansing agent for individuals and communities. Speak the truth in love and watch God work. His truth cuts to the chase. It dives deep into the heart of the matter. Stand up in love, empowered by the Holy Spirit, with the Word of God on your breath. This is faith in action. Since you have prayed, now you can act!
Taken from Dose #58 in the 90-day devotional book, Infusion.
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