Do you tend to hold back or charge ahead?

When it comes to trusting God and taking steps of faith do you tend to hold back or charge ahead? My tendency is to hold back. I need to work at taking initiatives, even small ones, as I trust and obey God. Recently I have been encouraged by the story of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem. Nehemiah repeatedly combined looking to God for help and taking action. Here are two examples:

  • “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.” (Nehemiah 4:9)
  • “Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” (Nehemiah 4:14b)

Nehemiah’s vision of God was big enough to meet seemingly impossible challenges. He encouraged those around him to remember how awesome and present God was. This confidence in God helped Nehemiah to step through his fears and take initiatives in line with what God had put in his heart to do. The same can be true for us.

An application of this for me is to keep praying for the people God has placed me amongst, and to act on more of the ideas God gives me.

For reflection
Do you tend to hold back or charge ahead?
Is there an area in your life God is prompting you to combine prayer and action?