31 Days of Repentance
By Monica Kritz
Mitchell County
Day 12: Forgive me for procrastination.
It may seem amusing to the reader that on day 11, I would write about “not waiting” and now on day 12, I am writing about procrastination.
We are to wait on GOD and HIS timing, trusting HIM completely. However, when HE gives us something to do, we do not need to delay. To procrastinate is “to put off, or postpone to a later time.” (Webster’s Dictionary)
All of us have projects. It began in school, when we were assigned a history or science project. The teacher gave us six weeks or more to complete it. What did most of us do? We began working on it a week before it was due! Is there anyone reading this who began a project one day before it was due? Then, we have projects at work or at home, such as painting or “spring cleaning.” The task looks so large sometimes, that we almost dread to start. If you are like me, you like to start a project and be able to quickly finish it, having that feeling of accomplishment. But when that same project spreads out into weeks or months, it can become quite discouraging!
We’ve heard the saying, “Don’t put off until tomorrow, what you can do today.” And we’ve all heard the stories about people who felt they were supposed to call or visit a loved one but instead they delayed (or procrastinated) and did not call or visit, and the loved one died. But what can we learn from The Bible about procrastination? In Hebrews 3, there are 3 verses that mention the word, “Today.” Hebrews 3:7-8 says, “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts,…” Then in verse 13, The Bible says, “But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Verse 15 states, “…Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts,…”
These verses speak of the importance of “today.” Since it is in GOD’s Word, we need to understand that it is important. So don’t put off or procrastinate about those things you need to do, especially good things that you know that you need to be doing.
Challenge:
* Read James 4:17. Memorize it.
* As I mentioned before, I like to tackle a job and complete it. Many times, I have delayed to start, because I was waiting for a large amount of time to be available to complete the task. Lately, THE LORD has been showing me to go ahead and get started, even if it is in small chunks of time. I have been doing this, working on a project little-by-little and have been rewarded with completion. The project may seem to take longer, but when I am finished, I am so glad that I actually started! If I had kept waiting for a whole day to be open to do this, I may never have started! Sit down and make a list of several projects. Put them in order of importance. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the list, let the list be a gauge of where to start. Sometimes just making a list gets it out of your mind, where it twirls around endlessly, and it gets onto paper.
* Read Luke 14:28-30.
* Most importantly, ask yourself if any of these projects will have an eternal impact on others. The ones that will have an eternal impact need to be at the top of your list!
