May 3

Written by Bill Grandi on May 3rd, 2019

My title for this devotion is Reactive vs Proactive Faith.

Psalm 56:3-4,11 says “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid…in God I trust: I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (ESV)

Those verses are telling me something worth seeing. There is a Reactive Faith and there is a Proactive Faith. Let me put it this way:

When I am afraid -> I will trust.

I will trust -> and not be afraid.

That’s not saying it is bad to trust when afraid. No. That’s a good thing to run to the Father. But the Proactive says, “I will trust and not be afraid.” It is much different to face life trusting God than to wait until something comes and then trust.

I read the familiar passage of Proverbs 3:5-6 this morning. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make straight your paths.” (ESV) See that first word? T-R-U-S-T.

Personally, I don’t think it is bad to be afraid and then throw your trust onto the Lord and lean on Him. How much better, though, to have your trust in Him and not be afraid when things hit (and they will)?

“Father, let me have a Proactive Faith-one that trust you ahead of difficulty- rather than a Reactive Faith-one that trusts you after/during the storm. In either case let my faith be real and tangible when it is tested.”

 

8 Comments so far ↓

  1. I agree, Bill, that we should strive to be proactive in our faith rather than reactive. And since my word for the year is “lean,” I especially like the verse from Proverbs you included here. We need to lean on the Lord and not our own feeble understanding.
    Blessings!

    • Bill Grandi says:

      Those verses are paramount to having a faith that trusts. Thanks for mentioning them Martha.

  2. Glynn says:

    When “things hit,” the first impulse (or the first temptation) is to act – do something in response. Sometimes, perhaps more than sometimes, it’s better to wait and trust.

    • Bill Grandi says:

      I agree Glynn. We often go of “half-cocked” because we didn’t wait. Thanks for a good insight.

  3. Pam says:

    I think I want to have both—proactive AND reactive faith! More faith is always a plus! Lol!

    • Bill Grandi says:

      I can go with that Pam. Unfortunately, you see it as good. there are those whose last response is faith.

  4. Ryan S. says:

    Great distinction Bill, I would much prefer to be proactive and Live by faith, but it is nice to know when the ball gets dropped, I can still run to God after fear or anxiety has already set in.

  5. floyd says:

    This is my daily prayer; to fear and revere my Father over anything in His creation that He is sovereign over anyway.