daily devotional

What are you saying when you continually delay doing what you said you would do? What are you saying when you settle for less than you know you could do?

God hears exactly what you are saying, and he wants to have a talk with you about it right now.

Yip, sit down sister, Daddy has called his girls in for a family gathering to get some things straight. Not to condemn or punish us, but instead to help us see the root of why we do what we do and empower us to change anything that needs to be changed.

If you’ve been on Facebook this week, you’ve likely seen it … this little screen shot image that went viral. A black background, white words with the profile name of Ovyee. Have you seen it?

It says:

“Procrastination is the arrogant assumption that God owes you another opportunity to do what you had time to do.”

Well, that hits different doesn’t it? Procrastination is the arrogant assumption that God OWES you ANOTHER opportunity to do what you HAD TIME to do. This is a misuse of time we’re talking about here. An entitlement that says we’ll have time later.

Honey, stop right now and think about this … what have you been putting off that would cause great regret if you never got another opportunity to do it? You think “I should reach out … I should make that phone call … I should mend that relationship … I should get up and get started … I should … I should …” You’re should’ing all over yourself.

You know you should, but you’ve been waiting until tomorrow for so dang long and tomorrow never seems to show up. But we never see the urgency in doing it today because we arrogantly assume God will supply another opportunity. And we also arrogantly assume the next opportunity will be better timed and feel a little more comfortable than the one we just passed up.

WRONG. This stuff never gets easier, it only gets harder.

Proverbs 6:4 “Don’t put it off, do it now. Don’t rest until you do.”

Well dang, that’s clear isn’t it? Where have you been opting for REST over ACTION? What if you made a commitment right here today, that you would not rest again until you’ve taken action?

I’m talking about really practical things like that nasty butt kitchen that’s been piling up all week. I’m talking about the laundry that’s taking over your entire bedroom. I’m talking about the pile of mail that covers your kitchen table.

You say “ahhhh, Pamela, God doesn’t really care about the state of my house and petty little chores.”

You’re right, I don’t think that will make an ounce of difference at the end of your life. Not a single person will be consumed with thoughts of dirty dishes, laundry or bills in their final breath. BUT, here’s why this little stuff is important … it sets a precedence for how you handle everything.

If it’s not your house, maybe it’s your relationships. It’s your health. It’s your finances.

If you procrastinate on little things, you will procrastinate doing bigger things that God calls you to do. This is not only proving your faithfulness, but this is creating a work ethic for your life.

Maybe that’s what we need … we need an improved work ethic for our lives. We’ve gotten lazy. We’ve gotten used to delaying the things we could so easily do today. THAT CHANGES TODAY. WE DON’T GO TO BED UNTIL WE DO THOSE THINGS WE KNOW WE NEED TO DO.

Let’s break this arrogant assumption that somehow God owes us more time to do what we should have already done. If you’ve been given the opportunity to do what you know you need to do today, then get to doing it.

With this perspective, our nasty little habit of procrastination is no longer just something that delays our progress, we realize it is also delayed obedience. If God has given us the opportunity, he expects us to use it now and stop assuming he will always show up with another opportunity. Eventually our time runs out and none of us know when that time is.

And what about settling? Have you woke up to the realization that you could have become more than you have? Do you see there is untapped potential lying dormant in you? Do you understand God has put more in you than you’re showing up with on the daily?

When we settle we are arrogantly assuming God didn’t really know what he was doing when he put a desire for more in our hearts.

Settling isn’t just effecting you … it’s effecting God’s entire plan of impact with your life. Your free will has allowed you to dismiss yourself from the greatness God had planned. We most often missue our free will by settling. We don’t push through, we just settle in. We don’t dream big, we just settle in. Settle in to the patterns of this world and what everyone else is doing.

Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Lord, please renew our minds. Help us to change our thinking. Show us the effects of our continual settling for a little less here and a little less there. We are completely changing the trajectory of our entire lives as we settle and we realize this is what is causing us to miss the mark. We feel lost perhaps because WE ARE LOST. We’re off course because we’ve been settling.

Renew your mind sister. See where you have settled for what was easiest, what was immediate, or what was more fitting with the rest of the world, and dare to see where that’s leading you. Within you is the power to change directions and get back on track. You lack absolutely nothing. It’s not too late and you are not too far gone. Settle for nothing but God’s best and your best from now on.

You were created for more.
You are capable of more.
You are worthy of more.

This concludes the family meeting our Papa God just called with his prized and precious daughters. Now let’s do it. Let’s overcome procrastination. Let’s promise to no longer settle. Let’s show up and make Daddy proud today.