Acting vs. Reacting

Ok so this is the first week of the 40 Days in the Word curriculum from Saddleback Church that my church is going through. It's teaching me how to study the Bible. I decided to share the thoughts that came from the second day's study.

ACTING, now this action not pretending to be something that one is not. Philippians 1:27a “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” is the verse for the second day that I studied. This is what I got out of my study. Many times I go about my day and I'm doing my own thing and not paying attention to the things around me and then when something "bumps" into me and disrupts me I react instead of acting. Most of the time my reacting isn’t “worthy of the gospel of Christ” that it should be. I realized I needed to be acting instead of reacting. Reacting gives me the impressing that you’re not in control; it’s an automatic response to something around you. To “conduct [yourself] in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” means that what comes out of me in my thoughts, actions, and words should be a reflection of the grace and mercy that I’ve received. I need to be controlled by Christ and not by my own self so that I can be assured that my “reaction” is worthy of the grace and mercy received.

God-
Help me not to be reacting but to be proactive when circumstances around me change. Help me to step aside and allow you to control my actions and words so that I can live my life in a way that is worthy of the grace and mercy you’ve bestowed upon me and to be able to point others to that same grace and mercy.