--- id: ff20_owner_primary_actor_not_sideline title: FLYINGFREE - Owner of the Problem Is the Primary Actor category: Biblical Life Counsel predicted_narrative_arc: sideline-wait-to-owned-action-with-god sentiment: Convictional emotions: - Convictional - Urgent - Practical keypoints: - Some keep God outside the problem and wait too long - Time exacerbates crisis when solution is delayed - Owner of the problem must be primary actor in the solution - Total reliance on someone other than God means endless waiting - God is the available asset in every crisis; evaluate alternatives now summary: > Dean insists the problem’s owner must act with God inside the situation — not keep God outside, not wait endlessly on others, while evaluating alternatives off the sideline. tags: - flying-free - chapter-20 - ownership - action - waiting - god - crisis - dean-rush - book-excerpt sycophancy: 0 truth_score: 9 entropy: 2 sample: false consent: owner_approved agent: flyingfree created: '2010-01-01' updated: '2026-09-09T00:00:00Z' vault_stage: 07_CODEX headwaters: FLYINGFREE prefix: FLYINGFREE enrich_status: ok enrich_blockers: [] enrich_method: manual pipeline_filename: FLYINGFREE_20_owner-primary-actor-not-sideline.md source_kind: book_excerpt proposed_topic: FlyingFree lane: FlyingFree voice: desk active_voice: desk voices: - desk routing_source: carbon corpus_topic: FlyingFree content_status: active date: '2010-01-01' share_url: https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md source_url: https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md site_category: Flying Free book_title: Flying Free book_chapter: 20 book_chapter_title: A Moment to Act – Use Faith source_file: flyingfree/flying-free-20-a-moment-to-act.md description: > Chapter 20 — owner as primary actor; God inside the problem; no sideline wait. --- # Owner of the Problem Is the Primary Actor **Author:** Dean Rush **Book:** *Flying Free* · **Chapter 20:** A Moment to Act – Use Faith **Full book:** [deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md](https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md) ## Context for the Reader Chapter 20 applies Eberly’s high road to ordinary delay: people keep God outside and wait on others while crisis grows. This lesson is ownership and timely evaluation with God as the available asset. > Voice note: Everything under **Dean's excerpt** is Dean's original prose (lightly cleaned only). Sections marked **Biblical foundations**, **Scholar sidebar**, **Takeaways**, and **First-time learner** are enrichment for Asker / first readers — not Dean speaking. --- ## Biblical foundations (preface) Scripture calls people to seek the Lord early, act as stewards of their troubles, and refuse idle waiting on human saviors. | Dean's claim | Scriptural undercarriage | | --- | --- | | Do not keep God outside the problem | Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you (James 4:8) | | Delay exacerbates crisis | Redeem the time (Ephesians 5:15–16) | | Owner is primary actor | Bear your own load (Galatians 6:5); be doers (James 1:22) | | Waiting only on people fails | It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man (Psalm 118:8) | | God available in every crisis; evaluate now | God is our refuge and strength, a very present help (Psalm 46:1) | --- ## Dean's excerpt ### Inside the problem with God Some people will wait for a long time to correct a situation because they will not allow anyone into the situation with them. Specifically, they keep God outside the problem. If they are waiting for someone else to solve their trouble then time often exacerbates the crisis. It is essential to begin the process of evaluating and working toward a solution sooner rather than later. The owner of the problem needs to become the primary actor in the solution. When we rely on the processes of others rather than our own actions as the remedy to a problem, we are only asking for increased trouble. People who allow themselves to be totally reliant on someone else other than God have a difficult time solving any problem because they are always waiting. They wait on a solution that seldom arrives. God is the one available asset in every crisis. He can provide a timely and relevant solution. Waiting on other people often leads to more problems rather than a personal solution to the crisis. It is very important to understand that the situation we are in is only a step away from the future. We need to evaluate the alternatives rather than waiting on the sideline for someone else’s answer. > **Scholar sidebar — Asset, not accessory** > Dean’s “available asset” language is practical theology: God present and sufficient (Psalm 46:1). Primary actor does not mean solitary hero — it means you stop subcontracting ownership while excluding God. James 4:8 and Psalm 118:8 frame nearness and refuge. --- ## Takeaways 1. **God kept outside.** Isolation from God delays correction. 2. **Time hurts.** Waiting on someone else lets crisis grow. 3. **Owner acts.** Primary actor in the solution is the problem’s owner. 4. **Endless human wait.** Total reliance on others seldom arrives. 5. **Evaluate off sideline.** God-ready alternatives beat spectator hope. --- ## First-time learner ### What is Dean saying in one sentence? Keep God inside the problem, own the solution as primary actor, and evaluate alternatives now — waiting only on other people while excluding God worsens the crisis. ### Who is the primary actor? The owner of the problem — with God as the available asset in every crisis. ### Key verses to read with this lesson - **James 4:8** — Draw near to God. - **Psalm 46:1** — Present help. - **Psalm 118:8** — Refuge over trust in man. - **Galatians 6:5** — Own your load. - **Ephesians 5:16** — Redeem the time. ### A simple practice Write: “I own ___.” Then write one way you have kept God outside it. Pray Him in. Take one evaluating step (list options, call counselor, open budget) today. ### How this feeds Ask Dean Seed material for: *Why must the owner be primary actor? What happens when God is kept outside?*