Luke 12:57 NASB
“And why do you not even judge by yourselves what is right?

Initiative is the power or opportunity to act or take charge before others do and the ability to assess and initiate things independently.
Judging for yourself what is right is taking the initiative to act, speak by your initiative, independent of an external influence.
We often hear things like, “use your initiative, don’t you know how to do things by yourself, why can’t you do things without being told”? and more.
At some point in life, we are expected, as we expect others to know what to do, to get on with doing it without another fact-checking them.
James 4:17 declares that it is sinful to the Lord if we know what to do but fail to do it, that means, the sin of omission is as sinful as the sin of commission; I don’t know is never an excuse!
We take initiative in every area of our lives except the spiritual, we seek and need someone else to tell us how to run our spiritual race, often at the detriment of our destinies or the will of the father.
What shall I do? Is an everyday question we all ask daily, we ask ourselves and others either because we are confused as to what to do, or to find out information but who we should refer that question to is the Lord as seen in Acts 22:10, Paul got the direction he needed from the Lord by asking what to do.
Initiative is deliberately taking a step to intentionally do something outside the expected, like the Gibeonites in Joshua 9:4 who took the initiative (albeit a foolish one) to seek self-preservation from Israel by cunning calculation. Their initiative was a good step, but it leaned too much on the wrong idea and action.
On what do you take initiative? Your spiritual walk according to Philippians 2:12? We must take the initiative to be intentional in the things of the kingdom otherwise there will always be a reason and an excuse why we can’t walk according to the doctrines of the scriptures. Initiative was what set Joseph apart in Potiphar’s home in Genesis 39:5.
Circumstances and challenges will force us to want to ignore the basic principles of the scripture like Proverbs 3:27-28 that shows us we must take initiative in quickly fulfilling responsibilities of justice and charity as prescribed by the Lord.
the book of proverbs is a gold mine on how to exercise our initiative, especially in a godly way that will flow into our daily lives.
As Matthew 5:16 says, let your light shine wherever you are, the initiative exhibited is what causes the light to shine brighter and be noticed. It is that initiative, even in the face of one’s pain and challenges, that we chose to offer a shoulder for another to lean on, offer an ear for a hurting person to pour out.
They say it takes initiative to get ahead in life, that means when an opportunity presents itself, we have the choice to act however we chose-initiative, but as believers, we must discern if the initiative we exercise is right, wrong, godly or moral, which is why we must, according to Ezekiel 36:27 allow the Spirit of the Lord within us guide and help us take initiatives that are godly.
Will you take the initiative to do the work of the kingdom while there’s time?
Shalom