There is a ditch on either side of the path of life, and there are extremes on both sides of every truth. The faith and confidence needed to be decisive can easily drift into presumption at times. Still, it is better to err on the side of extreme faith than too little faith. God can correct presumption and premature action. The law of inertia states you cannot steer what is not moving. It is much easier for the Lord to steer us when we are moving.
Those who are not moving because they are waiting for decisions they should be mature enough to make would likely hear from Him more if they would step out in faith and get moving. As we are told in Proverbs 28:1, “But the righteous are bold as a lion.” Righteousness is also doing what is right, and if we are doing what is right, we will be bold about it. The bold are more likely to err on the side of premature action, as did Peter. Peter was rebuked more than all the others, but he was also the one to whom Jesus gave the keys to the kingdom.
The ones who make the most mistakes are also often the ones who create the biggest breakthroughs and victories. Jesus had to give Peter His biggest rebuke, “Get behind Me, Satan!” (see Matthew 16:23; Mark 8:33) right after He gave him the keys. Yet He did not take away those keys. Of all the disciples, Peter was the most prone to use them, and did again and again.
With but a few exceptions, Christianity has been in retreat in the West for over a century now. In the last few decades, it has become a freefall. In the West, the greatest need of all is for bold, decisive leadership that refuses to retreat any further before the enemies of the cross. People, even non-believers, are desperately looking for courage in their leaders. Jesus is not coming back as the Lamb, but as the Lion. The future will belong to the bold.
As Jesus said, the end of this age is the harvest, and the harvest is the time when all the seeds that have been sown will mature. We are about to see what mature Christians look like! This will be demonstrated several ways, but we can be sure His people will be the boldest, most decisive, confident, and joyful people the world has seen. We are living in the most troubling and confusing of times. As we mature in the Lord, we will grow in His peace and joy, and this will increasingly distinguish His people.
It takes decisive faith to make choices, and it takes bold and decisive faith to make bold choices. There are consequences for every choice we make, but there are also consequences for every choice we fail to make. We want to make wise, correct choices, but sometimes making the wrong choice is better than making the right choice too late. Sometimes the best choice is just a little better than the worst choice, and hesitancy can be more costly than the worst choice.
We can be thankful the Lord promised us wisdom if we will ask for it, but there is an addendum to this promise that many overlook:
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:5-8).
To be “double-minded” means to be indecisive. This makes us unstable, which is far costlier than being too decisive. How often do we hear of a Christian being too bold, or stepping out with too much faith? How rarely do we see a Christian who will stand up for the faith? We wonder why so many are leaving the church, while the ability of church leadership to stand against this great and increasing darkness remains at an all-time low.
Where are the true shepherds who will face the lion and the bear to protect those put in their charge? Where are the watchmen who are awake and sounding the alarm that the enemy is at the gates?
Therefore “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (see Proverbs 9:10), or we could say the ability to make right choices. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but it is not the highest wisdom, which is loving God. However, without this foundation of the fear of the Lord, whatever we build will be weak and distorted. Wisdom begins with knowing He is Almighty God and not to be trifled with. Wisdom is also knowing that all those He has appointed to protect His people and to stand watch on the walls of salvation must give an account.
A foundation is something you walk on every day, so whatever else is built on it depends on the quality of the foundation. Regardless of how much we grow in the Lord, or how close we get to Him, this foundational respect for who He is must never leave us. There is a big difference between intimacy and familiarity. John was intimate with the Lord. Judas was familiar with Him. We must consider our relationship to Him and our calling by Him with the utmost and highest regard.
© 2022 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.
