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"Arise from the dead . . ." Ephesians 5:14
Not all initiative, the willingness to take the first step, is inspired by God.
Someone may say to you, “Get up and get going! Take your reluctance by the
throat and throw it overboard—just do what needs to be done!” That is what we
mean by ordinary human initiative. But when the Spirit of God comes to us and
says, in effect, “Get up and get going,” suddenly we find that the initiative is
inspired.
We all have many dreams and aspirations when we are young, but sooner or later
we realize we have no power to accomplish them. We cannot do the things we long
to do, so our tendency is to think of our dreams and aspirations as dead. But
God comes and says to us, “Arise from the dead . . . .” When God sends His
inspiration, it comes to us with such miraculous power that we are able to
“arise from the dead” and do the impossible. The remarkable thing about
spiritual initiative is that the life and power comes after we “get up and get
going.” God does not give us overcoming life—He gives us life as we overcome.
When the inspiration of God comes, and He says, “Arise from the dead . . . ,” we
have to get ourselves up; God will not lift us up. Our Lord said to the man with
the withered hand, “Stretch out your hand” (Matthew 12:13). As soon as the man
did so, his hand was healed. But he had to take the initiative. If we will take
the initiative to overcome, we will find that we have the inspiration of God,
because He immediately gives us the power of life.
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