Why Stop At a Green Light?

“Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.”

~1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NRSV)

On a recent early morning ride I drew up to traffic signals, somehow thinking they were red, when actually they were green. I wondered why I had stopped. I quickly realised my mind was miles away. Fortunately, there were no negative consequences.

We routinely operate in life in similar ways; we stop at the green lights, yet we insist on steaming through the red ones. In other words, we shrink from the positive things we can do in living the gospel truth, and we sink into being controlled by fear, complaint, and envy, etc. We try to move forward by moving backwards. It’s madness.

The best way to fight the slide into running red lights, as far as life is concerned, is to ensure we don’t stop at the green ones.

Maintaining Momentum

When we diligently watch for green traffic signals we’re also able to stop for the red ones. Our diligence is in the watching.

And where we go forth in our staying alert and standing firm in our faith, exercising our courage, and remaining strong in the Lord, we punch each green light. We’re not tentative around them. Yet, we’re cautious not to push our benefit, for we’re staying alert.

Maintaining spiritual momentum is the employment of our capacities of conscious thinking. When we do this, and it becomes our habit, our conscious thinking powers grow. Each traffic signal on the journey of life is seen for what it is. We react, and, in doing so, we maintain momentum.

Living Life Affirmatively

When we live life beyond the sickly worry around the fear of failure, we take life on its merits, and we empower ourselves to make decisions as each moment presents.

When we agree with ourselves that green lights will be taken as signs to continue to move forward, and we do move forward, our confidence increases.

Living life affirmatively is as much agreeing to move forward than it is agreeing not to retreat. Though sometimes retreat is necessary, we never retreat when we have the green light. Most of life is a green light situation. Most of life is about living life affirmatively, without doubt, and without fear.

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Life is a moving forward process. There are more green lights than red ones. Better to go forward in faith and courage than to lag behind for fear of failure.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.