4ANEWDAY

Stepping out of your comfort zone and transitioning from your current state to where God intends you to be is a journey that requires action. This action, rooted in faith, empowers you to align your life with God’s will and experience His promises.

God is in control, but we have to act. Many people may believe in God’s promises and powers, but they hesitate to take action in faith to experience them. Understand that although God can do all, He works through people; that is why we must seek to do His will, which is the path He has set for us, not just to pray and sit back and watch. 

A balanced life with God is not about extremes but about finding the right balance between prayer, our communication with God, and action, our response to His guidance. It’s about understanding that while we must rely on God’s guidance, we also have a responsibility to act in accordance with His will.

God works through those willing to act for Him. So we should pray as if everything depended on God and take action as if everything depended on us! But always avoid these extremes: 1) To do nothing and 2) Feeling like we must do everything. 

We must move from our words to action. 

It is easy to tell what we are going to do, but only our actions show that our words are valid, and our words lack meaning if our actions fail to back them up. We can say we want to change, to do better. We can say we love God and others, but if we are not taking practical or habitual steps to demonstrate that change, our words become empty and meaningless. Inaction in faith can lead to stagnation and a lack of spiritual growth. So we must ask ourselves, do our actions back up what our words say?

As James states in James 2: 14-20, something I label actively living in faith. “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has not deeds? Can such a faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, go in peace, keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, you have faith, I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by deeds.”

A changed life with God. 

Confession of sins(repentance) and a changed life are inseparable; in other words, you cannot have one without the other. Repentance is not just about acknowledging our wrongdoings but also about taking action to change our ways. Just as a changed life comes from a changed heart and mind, true repentance transforms our actions. To be a follower of Jesus means more than just saying the right words; it means acting on what He says.

Actions of faith. Knowing God’s word is not enough. We must take action to activate His power in our lives. This comes through a growing relationship with Him, and that relationship begins with faith. That faith helps us realize that we are delivered from our past by Jesus’s death and resurrection and that we must overcome to become. Examples of actions of faith could be forgiving someone who has wronged us, helping those in need, or sharing the love of God with others.

Through our active faith, we experience a transformed life, a new life that reflects the faith we profess. While others may not always witness the results of our faith, they can discern its depth through our actions. Our actions, not words, demonstrate our faith and its transformative power. 

Decide to act. Decide that the pain of staying in that same situation, circumstance, environment, result, and going nowhere in life cycle far outweighs the temporary discomfort of changing, of going towards the unknown, which is not a place of uncertainty, but a place where God’s plans and blessings await, in faith for something new.