The First Move

The First Move

How many times have we been in a situation where we were waiting on someone else to make the first move? We may have been in a disagreement with a friend and felt like he or she should approach us first. We may have wanted to help in the church or another organization and were waiting to be asked. We may have been looking at a new position or wanting more pay at work and were waiting on the manager to just call us in and give it to us.

Whatever the reason, a lot of times we simply sit back and wait for things to come to us. We sometimes believe that other people know what we are thinking and they are purposely not asking us to do something. We sometimes believe they are holding that same grudge we are hanging on to. We build things up in our head and then begin to get stubborn about the situation so we do nothing rather than deciding to make the first move. We should move in a sense of urgency.

Titus 3:14 “Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; then they will not be unproductive.”

When we have an issue in our relationships, the longer we wait to make things right the harder it is going to be. The issue is not as important as the relationship is. We need to make the first move and get things right in order to be able to help the other person with whatever they are dealing with. God can’t work in a relationship that isn’t open and we have to be the responsible one to make the first move and communicate with the other person.

If there is something we are interested in doing to help others in the church, community or organization, we shouldn’t think they don’t need our help because they don’t ask us to help. Most of the time other people are not going to ask for help. We have to make that first move and approach someone asking how we can help or letting them know what services, talents or skills we have to offer. So many times we believe that others don’t want our help but they really do need it.

So many times we hear others at work say they don’t understand why they didn’t get that promotion. We hear them complain that others in the department get paid more money. We listen to them say they know more than their boss does so why aren’t they in charge. We have to step back and look at the situation. Are they making the first move or doing nothing? Are we making the first move to ask them more questions about why they feel that way and how we can help?

We have to make the first move in our relationships, in our work, in our communities. We can’t wait for opportunities to be dropped in our laps. We can’t wait for someone to come to us and want to make amends first. We can’t wait for the manager to tell us how great we are doing and promote us. Our actions should be helping us and others move forward. We should be helping each other improve. We should be helping each other move closer to God.

Making the first move isn’t always easy. We tend to put things off. We may feel awkward about what will happen. We may be uneasy about how to approach things. However, God knows what we need to do and when we need to do it. So our first real move is to pray about the situation. Our first move is to ask God to show us what His will is and what we need to do. He will reveal to what to do and give us the strength and desire to do it if we will only ask Him.

When we make the first move, God can use us for His good. When we decide to put aside our pity for ourselves, to put aside our pride and to put aside our laziness, we can make the first move and take actio
God wants us to take. Today, let’s ask God what first move He wants us to make in our relationships, in our careers, in our health, in our finances. Let’s ask Him and take action so we can make a difference.