The Decision to Get Up • Ps Dustan Bell

Devotional

Day 1: Choose action over despair; get up and move.

These four lepers model a raw, honest question: "Why are we sitting here until we die?" Instead of waiting for perfect options, they chose a risky move — anything was better than continued paralysis — and that decision opened the door to God's provision. When you refuse to be defined by famine, disappointment, or fear and take even a small step, the narrative can begin to change. [05:44]

2 Kings 7:3-4 (ESV)
Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate. They said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say, 'We will enter into the city,' then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us go to the camp of the Syrians; if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die."

Reflection: What is one small, concrete step you can take this week toward a situation you’ve been avoiding because the options feel risky? Specify the action, the day you will do it, and who you will tell to keep you accountable.

Day 2: God watches, ready to strengthen committed hearts.

God’s gaze is not passive; Scripture says the Lord's eyes run to and fro looking to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed. That means God notices when people rise in faith and take responsibility rather than remaining passive victims of circumstance. Trust that God is attentive to your willingness to act, and that He is primed to support the brave choices you make. [29:05]

2 Chronicles 16:9 (ESV)
For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you will have wars.

Reflection: In which area of your life have you been waiting for God to move where He’s actually waiting for you to take initiative? Write down one first step you sense God inviting you to make and why you think He is watching for that move.

Day 3: God blesses and orders obedient steps of faith.

When people take steps — even weak, halting ones — God delights to order and bless those steps. The scripture about the Lord establishing a person’s steps reminds us that action aligned with God’s heart opens His provision and guidance. Resist the temptation to wait for perfect strength; God often works through small, faithful obedience. [31:51]

Psalm 37:23 (ESV)
The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way.

Reflection: Identify a “weak” or awkward first step toward the change you long for (calling, relationship, health, work). How can you take that step this week knowing God will order it — and who will you ask to celebrate and reinforce that step with you?

Day 4: Faith must be paired with obedient action.

Belief alone, without corresponding action, leaves faith dormant; Scripture teaches that faith without works is dead. God’s activity often comes through human response — prayer plus movement, trust plus obedience — not instead of it. Choose not to hide behind passive spiritual language; let your faith be animated by visible, measurable steps. [32:07]

James 2:17 (ESV)
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Reflection: What is one practical “work” that would demonstrate the faith you claim in a specific area (e.g., send a message, apply for a job, enroll in a course)? Commit to doing it and record how taking that step changes the way you pray or trust.

Day 5: Decide to press forward; refuse to stay stuck.

There comes a moment to declare, "I will not sit here until I die," and to press forward toward what God has for you. Forgetting what lies behind and straining toward what is ahead is a discipline: it requires choice, repetition, and refusing nostalgia or self-pity to define tomorrow. Make a resolution today to move — your family, your church, and your future depend on decisions like this. [23:19]

Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV)
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Reflection: What regret or past wound do you need to name and intentionally set aside so you can press forward? Write one sentence releasing it in faith and schedule one tangible action this month that embodies pressing on (who you’ll tell, when you’ll do it).

Sermon Summary

I invited us to let God’s Word unsettle comfort and reignite faith, because a new year demands a different posture. I opened with “Lawn Chair Larry,” who floated to 11,000 feet because you can’t just sit around, then turned to 2 Kings 7. Samaria is besieged, famine is brutal, and four lepers sit at the gate with no good options. That’s familiar ground—feeling stuck, flat, or caught in a rut. We often sit too long in disappointment, anger over unfairness, nostalgia that chokes vision, self‑pity’s cul‑de‑sac, and habits of sin that quietly spread and finally immobilize. The lepers’ turning point is our invitation: “Why are we sitting here until we die?” They rise—weakly—yet God amplifies their steps. Scarcity becomes abundance in a day.

I challenged us to make the decision to get up. Four things happen when we do. First, we discover we’re not powerless. We may not control circumstances, but we can control our next step. Even when the choices look like death, death, or probable death, faith chooses the best next step. Second, God blesses steps, not seats. The first counseling session, the first budget, the first apology may feel feeble; still, God magnifies feeble faith. Third, turnarounds can be sudden. Complaining doesn’t move heaven, but obedient initiative often uncovers provision already waiting—like the facility God had “stored up” once we actually started looking. Finally, when we get up, we’re positioned to help others. The lepers become messengers of good news; likewise, your rising blesses your family, your church, and your city.

I called us to act this week on what we’ve only been praying about: send the text, lodge the CVs, book the counseling, confess the sin, start the budget, forgive the offender. The steps of a good person are ordered by the Lord; the sitting is not. We prayed for a fresh rise of faith—to stop rehearsing yesterday and begin stepping into tomorrow. Then I invited those far from God to say yes to Jesus, because God won’t make our decisions for us, but He gladly meets us when we move toward Him.

Key Takeaways

1. Refuse to sit in disappointment Disappointment visits everyone, but it must not become the narrator of your future. Naming what hurt is honest; enthroning it is idolatry. Ask the lepers’ question—why sit here?—and let hope outrun memory as you take one obedient step forward. [13:36]
2. Small steps invite God’s amplification Your first steps will likely feel weak, late, and underwhelming; God still calls them faith. He often waits to multiply what we move, not what we muse about. Start, even if it trembles—God can make four faltering footsteps sound like chariots. [30:45]
3. You are not powerless today Victimhood is seductive because it relieves us of responsibility, but it also steals agency. Made in God’s image and filled with the Spirit, you can choose the next right thing. Stop grieving what’s lost long enough to steward what remains. [27:12]
4. God turns things quickly around He can reverse economies and stories in a day, but grumbling rarely hosts His power. Faith-filled initiative often uncovers provision that had been waiting while we were complaining. Put on a faith lens and watch how swiftly doors open. [35:38]
5. Your rising blesses many others When you get up, your household gets hope, your church gains strength, and your city hears good news. God loves to turn former beggars into carriers of bread. Someone’s breakthrough is tied to your decision to stand. [36:20]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading (ESV)
2 Kings 7:1–16
1 Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD: Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.”
2 The officer on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” And Elisha said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”
3 Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the gate. And they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die?
4 If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we shall die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare us, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall die.”
5 They rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians. When they came to the edge of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no one there,
6 for the LORD had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, “Lo, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and of the Egyptians to come against us.” Therefore they fled in the twilight and abandoned their tents, horses, and donkeys, and fled for their lives.
7 And they left their camp as it was, and fled for their lives. And the lepers went into one of the tents and ate and drank and carried off silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid it; then they came back and entered another tent and carried off from it also, and went and hid it.
8 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This is a day of good news, and we hold our tongues. If we wait until morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”
9 So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city and told them, “We went to the camp of the Syrians and behold, there was no one there, not a man.” The gatekeepers called and told it within the king’s house.
10 And the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “Let me tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know the inner parts of the city; they know where the exits are.” And one of his servants said, “They have also come here and gone from the city.”
11 He said, “Go and see.” So they looked and behold, the camp was deserted, with their horses and donkeys tied, and the tents as they were. And they fled for their lives.
12 Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Syrians, and the abundance of the spoil was such that a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
13 Now the king appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate; but the people kept coming in and trampling on him at the gate, so that he died.
14 And the man of God had said to the king, “Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.”
15 Then the servant on whose hand the king leaned got up early and went out to the people; and behold, there was a crowd at the entrance of the gate, and the man said, “O my lord, what trouble is this?”
16 And they answered, “This is the crowd that came to buy food for the city, and the king had appointed the officer over the gate to shut the gate, and the people poured out and trampled him, and he died.”

Observation questions (3–4)

Read verses 3–4. What question do the four lepers ask one another, and what three options do they weigh before choosing to move? ([04:20])
Look at verses 5–7. What sequence of events happens after the lepers go to the Syrian camp, and what items do they find and take? ([04:38])
According to verses 12–14, how does the city’s economic situation change, and how does that relate to the prophet’s original word?
In verse 8 the lepers decide not to keep silent. What reason do they give for going to inform the king’s household, and what does that reveal about their change in perspective? ([05:18])

Interpretation questions (3–4)

The lepers conclude that “if we stay here we die; if we go we might die” and choose to act. What does this reveal about how people evaluate risk when remaining in the present situation seems hopeless? ([04:20])
The text says God made the Syrian army “hear the sound of chariots and horses” so they fled. How should the group think about the relationship between human initiative (the lepers rising) and divine action (the Lord causing the army to flee)? ([29:57])
The prophet’s word about food prices is fulfilled quickly. What does this rapid reversal suggest about God’s timing and the way providence can intersect with human obedience? ([33:00])
By the end of the chapter the former outcasts become the city’s messengers of good news. How does a personal turnaround position someone to serve and bless others? ([36:20])

Application questions (4–7)

Disappointment can become the habit that keeps a person stationary. What one memory or disappointment do you find yourself replaying instead of taking a next step, and what is one small, concrete action you could take this week to move forward? ([13:36])
Many good changes begin with weak, awkward steps (first counseling session, first budget, first apology). What “feeble” step have you put off because it feels insufficient, and what is one practical first action you will commit to before the group meets again? ([30:45])
The claim “you are not powerless” rests on stewardship of what remains. What is one ability, resource, or relationship you still have that you can use now, and how will you use it this month to change your situation? ([27:12])
Turnarounds sometimes happen quickly once initiative begins. What provision might be waiting that you haven’t seen because you’re still complaining or waiting passively, and what is one faith action you will take this week to start looking for that provision? ([35:38])
Rising benefits more than the individual: children, spouse, church, city may be helped. Who in your immediate circle would gain if you decided to “get up” now, and what is one specific step you can take in the next seven days that would bless them? ([36:20])
If someone in the group feels they have never made a personal choice for Jesus, what first step of faith could they take this week (a conversation with a Christian friend, reading a short Gospel passage, or praying a simple prayer of trust)? ([40:53])

Sermon Clips

And it's amazing how that feeling of being stuck in a rut is familiar to all of us at different points in our lives. I know you love Jesus, but I think it's possible to love Jesus and still sometimes feel that you're caught in a rut. And it's amazing how when you get stuck in a rut, you start to lose your sense of vision. You start to lose your sense of confidence. You start to lose any sense that life can get better and that tomorrow can be different to today. You can be in a place in life where you feel gridlocked. [00:10:21] (30 seconds) #BreakTheRut

And we can find ourselves like these four lepers sitting in a set of circumstances we never would have imagined being in, but feeling powerless to change. Am I speaking to anyone today? How long had these four men sat at the gate? We don't know. It might have been days. It might have been weeks. It might have been months. It may have even been years. But we don't know how long they had sat there. But I think there is something in their attitude that can be a lesson to all of us. [00:10:52] (29 seconds) #RiseAboveCircumstance

For some of us here this morning, the calendar has moved on, but you haven't. And you still find that when your mind is idle, it goes back to that disappointment. And listen, disappointment can happen to everyone, but let me say this. Disappointment does not need to prophesy your future. Disappointment does not need to determine what tomorrow looks like, but it will if you stay sitting in it. [00:13:36] (24 seconds) #DisappointmentDoesntDefineYou

But driving home from work on a Thursday afternoon, you've got that seething sense of anger in your heart because how could God let all of these things happen? I mean, first they get leprosy. If that's not bad enough, then their city, of all the cities, happens to get besieged by a foreign army. And then famine. Who knows, if leprosy wasn't enough, now there's enemies at the gates, there's a food crisis, there's an economic disaster. Have you noticed how trouble comes in clusters? Sometimes things are going good and then bang, bang, bang. And everything feels like you've got trouble on multiple fronts. And it can build in us a kind of anger, can't it? [00:14:48] (36 seconds) #DontLetAngerWin

Now, don't get me wrong. Nostalgia can be good, can't it? When the iPhone memories pop up and it's you 10 years ago and you're like, wow, a much younger, more well-slept version of myself. But there's nothing wrong with nostalgia per se, but who knows, if nostalgia starts to choke out our sense of vision and creativity for the future, it can become a negative thing. As a church, this church has so much to look back and be grateful for, but aren't you glad that there is much more ahead of us than there is behind us? [00:16:40] (31 seconds) #DontLetNostalgiaChokeYou

But it's funny how pain and challenge and suffering can make all of us a bit myopic, can't it? Perhaps these four lepers had sat for months in self-pity. Sickness, famine, enemies at the gate. Surely no man had it so miserable as them. But I've noticed that self-pity is an emotional cul-de-sac. You end up going around and around in circles in self-pity, and it never takes you anywhere. [00:18:28] (23 seconds) #NoMoreSelfPity

And I want to challenge us at the end of 2025 with that same question today. Why are you still sitting here? I don't mean in this church. Don't leave the church. This is a very good church. But why are you still sitting here? Who knows? Yes, disappointment can come. And yes, you can go through a hard set of circumstances. But are you going to sit in those circumstances until you die? Why are you sitting here? [00:22:20] (22 seconds) #StopSittingStartLiving

Come on. God has invested each and every one of us with the power of choice. And some of us are waiting for God to do for us what only we can do. Why? Because God will not make our choices for us. God loves to endorse and back and show favour, but God will not make our decisions for us. Who knows? When it comes to our future, the ball is in your court. You get to decide what happens next. And I want to provoke, challenge and encourage you at the end of this year, you don't have to sit into 2026 and let next year be more of the same. [00:23:32] (33 seconds) #OwnYourChoices

We find that we're actually not powerless. You know, so many people, even in church, have sat for so long. They've actually developed an ingrained mindset. They believe in the power of God, but they themselves have told themselves that they're powerless. People say things like, well, I could never lose weight. I could never own my own home. I could never start a business. I'm stuck at this job. I could never make more money. I could never shake that habit. I could never. I could never. I could never. And who knows? If you allow, I could never, to run through your mind 100,000 times, it's very hard to start to get into a new groove of thought. [00:24:38] (34 seconds) #BreakTheICantMindset

Who knows? Things begin to change the moment we realise, you know what? I might have leprosy, but I've still got my legs. I might not be able to fight a battle, but I can still walk. And there comes a point where you and I have got to stop crying over what we've lost. And we've got to start laying hold of what we still have. [00:25:35] (18 seconds) #MoveWithWhatYouHave

And we've got to start laying hold of what we still have. You know what? There's some things I can't do, but there are a lot of things that I still can do. And I love that the lepers, that they surveyed their possibilities. If we go into the city, we're going to die. If we stay here, we're going to die. If we go to the Syrians, we might die. Let's go with option three. Might die is better than definitely die. Death, death, or probable death. Let's go with probable death. And let's be really honest, church. Sometimes your options aren't good, but you've got to do something. [00:25:50] (29 seconds) #UseWhatYouHave

I meet people in our church, and they've been praying for a job for six years because they don't want to do all of these other jobs. And I just say, listen, if it's death, death, or probable death, just work at KFC. That's fine. Like, who knows? You can't just sit around and hope for God to bless it. You've got to get up and start. Listen, I'm being as pastoral as I can. But you can't spend the next three years waiting on God or fate or the universe or your fairy godmother to sort everything out for you. There comes a point where you've got to get up. [00:26:19] (31 seconds) #ChooseActionNotStagnation

Hey, hard things happen. Jesus never said they wouldn't. And sometimes hard things happen because of our choices. Sometimes it's because of other choices. But you are not powerless. You have been made in the image of God. He's given you the ability to make significant moral choices. You're filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. You've got the Word of God. You've got the family of faith. You are not powerless. You are able to make some choices that move you in a better direction. [00:27:04] (27 seconds) #YouAreNotPowerless

Listen, it's not that God doesn't care. God is full of compassion and full of mercy toward us, but God tends to work with a spirit of faith. And so God waits for you and I to arise in our spirit and decide to get up. I think it's because God doesn't want us to be perpetually immature and infantile in our thinking. Who knows? God wants to grow us up. God wants to see us take responsibility for our lives. And so when God sees men and women start to get up out of disappointment and start to take steps of faith, God says, yes, now I can bless that attitude. Now I can bless that personal responsibility. [00:28:22] (38 seconds) #RiseInFaith

It doesn't say the sitting down of a good man. God doesn't bless us when we sit on our blessed assurance, lamenting and complaining, but God loves to bless your steps of faith. Can I lovingly challenge you? I don't think I needed permission. I've already done it for the last 25 minutes. If there's something in your world that you've been praying for, for the last year, two years, five years, I want to encourage you this week, do something. Some of you say, but I am, I'm praying. Yeah, I know, but do something else. Because faith without works is dead. You've got to get up. [00:31:39] (32 seconds) #FaithInAction

Number three is this. When we get up, we find that situations turn around and they can turn around pretty quickly. Remember, Elisha had promised that within 24 hours, the whole economy of Samaria would be reversed. In place of scarcity, there would be abundance and it would affect all the prices in the city. And remember, the captain mocked him and said, there's no way that the economy could turn around so quickly. And so long as they sat complaining and whinging, nothing changed. But when they decided to get up, it's amazing how quickly the situation turned around. [00:32:30] (36 seconds) #ActionChangesEverything

And you know what I noticed? All my years of complaining, God didn't bless. Don't act shocked. He's not blessed yours either. Like, if God blessed my complaint, I'd be a billionaire. But I noticed in all those years of complaining, God didn't bless it. And then we had a board meeting, and I said in the board meeting, I was trying to act faith-filled. So I said in the board meeting, I reckon we need to start to believe God for another property in the city. And to be honest, full disclosure, I thought maybe in the next 10 years, if we could get something, that would be great. Five years would be a miracle. [00:33:37] (31 seconds) #ComplainingGetsYouNowhere

And isn't it amazing how the moment we got up and started to look in faith, things actually moved really fast. And I want to challenge some of us today. What are the things that God has actually got stored up for you, but He can't bless it while it's whinging and complaining. We've got to actually get up and start to put a lens of faith on. And then God says, now I can turn things around, and I can turn them around fast. [00:35:41] (23 seconds) #FaithSpeedsChange

Last thought is this. When we get up, we find ourselves in a position to help others. You know, at the start of this chapter, we all felt sorry for these guys. You can't not feel sorry for them. I mean, they're objects of compassion and pity. But by the end of this chapter, these four men are legends. Who knows, by the end of the chapter, these four men are not receiving charitable handouts. They're the ones bringing the good news to the whole city. And God is using these men to bring provision to many, many starving lives. [00:36:05] (31 seconds) #RiseToServe

Listen, I want to encourage us today. This is why each and every one of us needs to get up. Because there's people in your world who are relying on you getting up. Listen, you can sit in disappointment if you want, but your children are relying on you to get up and start to be a person of faith again. Listen, when you get up and start to step out in faith again, your children are more blessed. Your spouse is more blessed. Your church is more blessed. Come on, this is not just about you and I. [00:36:52] (25 seconds) #YourRiseBlessesOthers

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