Initiative, proactivity, and courage.
What is wrong with me? Initiative.
What am I waiting on? Do I not realize that unless I act, things won't change?
I often question God for the situations I am in, asking "Why are things like this? Help me to get this/that.." But I am completely forgetting my own responsibility. I have the ability to go out and do many things. But often I am lazy! Often I let fear overrule me! Often I say to myself, "I don't know what to do with myself!". I think I feel like this all of the time. But I am neglecting my own ability to choose. To MAKE things happen. To CREATE.
I think one of the most powerful things I have read was about our ability to choose our response. This is one of the greatest freedom's we have, but most of us (including myself) don't exercise this. We proclaim, "that person just makes me so mad" but forgetting that we choose our response(this is just one example). We chose to let them anger us. So despite circumstance, despite situation, we have the power to choose our response.
Likewise, life is a series of choices. But unfortunately, I am more content in letting things happen to me. And honestly, if it weren't for God's intervention and practically putting things into my lap, and pulling me from certain path, I would be a much different person.
But lately I've been thinking.. Why do I often feel like I am still struggling so much? Why do I feel like I don't know what to do with myself? Why do I throw my arms up and shout, "God! Why do I feel like this?", and his response I think is becoming clear to me. Take initiative. Am I going to sit here and let sin overwhelm me? Or will I realize that I have the choice to get away from that situation? I choose to be lazy. I choose to wait around. I choose to be bored.
One of the things I asked one of my roommates is: "how/why are you always busy doing stuff?". His response was simple, "I just don't want to be bored". When I am not doing anything, is the times I am struggling the most. It's the times sin is most easily able to come into my life. Because I wait for things to happen. And sin easily takes me because I lie in wait for it. I don't seize opportunities.
So, I need help. I need the strength and courage to start realizing my own resposibility for my actions and ultimately my own hapinness. I can't give that responsibility to God for ME TO ACT!@.
I can (and probably will) talk a lot more about this. But for now, I gotta go to sleep. Goodnight.
What am I waiting on? Do I not realize that unless I act, things won't change?
I often question God for the situations I am in, asking "Why are things like this? Help me to get this/that.." But I am completely forgetting my own responsibility. I have the ability to go out and do many things. But often I am lazy! Often I let fear overrule me! Often I say to myself, "I don't know what to do with myself!". I think I feel like this all of the time. But I am neglecting my own ability to choose. To MAKE things happen. To CREATE.
I think one of the most powerful things I have read was about our ability to choose our response. This is one of the greatest freedom's we have, but most of us (including myself) don't exercise this. We proclaim, "that person just makes me so mad" but forgetting that we choose our response(this is just one example). We chose to let them anger us. So despite circumstance, despite situation, we have the power to choose our response.
Likewise, life is a series of choices. But unfortunately, I am more content in letting things happen to me. And honestly, if it weren't for God's intervention and practically putting things into my lap, and pulling me from certain path, I would be a much different person.
But lately I've been thinking.. Why do I often feel like I am still struggling so much? Why do I feel like I don't know what to do with myself? Why do I throw my arms up and shout, "God! Why do I feel like this?", and his response I think is becoming clear to me. Take initiative. Am I going to sit here and let sin overwhelm me? Or will I realize that I have the choice to get away from that situation? I choose to be lazy. I choose to wait around. I choose to be bored.
One of the things I asked one of my roommates is: "how/why are you always busy doing stuff?". His response was simple, "I just don't want to be bored". When I am not doing anything, is the times I am struggling the most. It's the times sin is most easily able to come into my life. Because I wait for things to happen. And sin easily takes me because I lie in wait for it. I don't seize opportunities.
So, I need help. I need the strength and courage to start realizing my own resposibility for my actions and ultimately my own hapinness. I can't give that responsibility to God for ME TO ACT!@.
I can (and probably will) talk a lot more about this. But for now, I gotta go to sleep. Goodnight.
Yea, that would be cool. I know on my own I will destroy myself pretty much. I will let sin overrule me. I will waste time. I will be lazy.
I have nothing to keep me accountable, so its easy to fall prey to many unhealthy things. It seems like I have these high wants, only to keep disappointing myself through inaction.
Posted by
Sean Raybuck |
1:42 PM
Sean,
I was reading your blog the other day on initiative. As I read it I was in complete agreement but then I got a sense of, "crap, how do I do that? Can I trust myself to take the intiative to serve and love God all the time? If we're going on past records...NO." I've been dealing alot with the place of grace in my life and how that is to be lived out. I know that it is God's work in our hearts but how much is it our intiative? When do we have to act, as you were talking about? I don't know? But, I was reading The Problem Of Pain today by C.S Lewis and I came across this....."For we are only creatures: our role must always be that of patient to agent, female to male, mirror to light, echo to voice. Our highest activity must be responsive, not intiative. To experience the love of God in a true, and not an illusory form, is therefore to experience it as our surrender to His demand, our conformity to His desire: to experience it in the opposite way is, as it were a solecism against the grammar if being."
Woah, that was alot. Sorry. May be taken out of context a little bit, not sure. You should read the book if you haven't already. Just something to chew on.
Corrie
Posted by
Anonymous |
8:38 PM
Corrie,
Hey yea, thanks for the reply. I will definently check it out. I actually have the book, i've just never read it.
Sean
Posted by
Sean Raybuck |
6:22 PM
Do you remember what chapter it was in?
Posted by
Sean Raybuck |
11:34 PM