DON’T BE JUST REACTIVE

Friday, 16th February, 2018

Reference text : Matthew 9:14-15

Matthew 9:15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bride chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.

When a team is doing very well, racking up the points as a soccer season progresses, fans are happy and can be found singing their way all through matches. But a consecutive run of poor results can turn even the most devoted of fans into a clubs worst nightmare, where there are incessant calls for dismissal of managers and offering of harsh criticisms of the same players whose praises were sung earlier.

Jesus was trying to give his disciples a clear message using the bridegroom as the image that ‘when specific events take place, appropriate responses must follow.’ On that premise, two keywords stand out from the Gospel text and act as the pivot around which the verse revolves: ‘when’ and ‘then’. These two words in context, signify a time or period and a corresponding response respectively.

You can call it protocol or our normal reaction, but what we do when situations are altered tell a great deal about us. In the face of trials and changing circumstances that push us out of our comfort zones, what do we do? Do we just buckle under and throw our hands up in defeat? Or do we reach out to the handy manual of the word of God to find the needed grounding to remain standing? That is for us to ponder.

However, we should not and cannot always be in a state of reactivity: responding only when situations change. Our access to the Spirit of God, affords us the opportunity to Intel that can make us proactive. This is where we are a step ahead of whatever hurdles we will face. My dear, though it will take some more growing up to get there, it definitely not impossible to be ahead of the situations we will encounter.

Remember # don’t just wait for situations to change before you react, seek to become proactive.

#sly