Active or Passive—You Choose Subscribe to the Devotional

This week's focus: Action

As I sit on the floor after my second knee surgery in as many months, I watch my leg move. But I am not moving it. For the next three weeks, for 6 to 8 hours a day, I will be on a CPM (continuous passive motion) device. I strap my leg into this machine that bends and straightens it over….and over. I am not actively involved at all. I could fall asleep, and the machine would still move my leg.

It gives me pause. Isn’t this how we spend so much of our time in passive motion? Are we passively walking through life, missing that nudge from the Holy Spirit to reach out to someone in need, speak a kind word, and do what we can to make our country a better place? Are we passively scrolling left, right, up, and down on our phones? (The irony is not lost on me; you are most likely reading this on your device right now.) Social media, devices, and the internet are not wholly bad. Have we as a society become more passive than active in that we mindlessly take in rather than intentionally give out? I think the answer is yes, at least for me. I don’t have to be strapped to the CPM device for 8 hours a day to be passive.

It can be hard to take action. It involves effort and expending energy. Certainly, it is easier and way more comfortable to continue with the passive behavior patterns we have established. However, both action and inaction have results.

But there is hope. In 2 Timothy, we are told that God did not give us a timid spirit (2 Timothy 1:7). We, as believers, are empowered to act. We can resolve to be aware of the Holy Spirit’s urgings within us. Where is the Holy Spirit prompting you to take action? Volunteer? Attend church regularly? (Hebrews 10:24-25) Spend time in God’s word and prayer daily? (Psalms 119:11) Register to vote? Let’s resolve to actively walk as believers and let that lead us in many areas of our lives (physical, mental, spiritual, and social).

2024 is an election year. This presidential election could be the most important one in history. We were founded as “one nation under God,” but God has been actively pushed out by groups who have chosen to ignore Him and passively by groups who stood by as it happened. We have passively allowed other belief systems to direct us, from the level of the White House down to our local courthouses. When Christians don’t take action, this is the result.

Again, there is hope. (2 Chronicles 7:14) God tells us He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8). We can claim confidence in that, radiate the love of Jesus (Matthew 5:16), and speak truth, kindly, (1 Peter 3:15) when we act. If believers actively exercise our right to vote in 2024, we can effect change for the better in our country. (Matthew 5:16) We must act now.

Special thanks to Chimene W. Fikkert for writing this week’s devotional.