"True Obedience Acts Immediately." ~ Dr. Stanley D. Toussaint (c.f. Acts 16:9–10 NASB95)
"A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."
When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them."
I have several assignments and three exams to study for and complete in the next month, I am relatively caught-up with school work. If I continue with a steady pace, this preparation and completion should avoid activation of panic alarms. This realization carries the dangerous temptation to procrastinate beginning these tasks instead of starting and completing the responsibilities early. However, while eating breakfast this morning and pondering the upcoming workload; I considered an opportunity at the end of April that I have previously prayed for God to provide if He desires my participating in this activity.
As I prayed for guidance on my participation in this activity, a strong prompting voice struck my heart and mind, "If you are serious about receiving provision for this activity, you will complete as much of your academic requirements now to free up the time necessary to receive the blessing. Conversely, procrastinating on your studying will result in missing participating if you receive the opportunity.
- Am I willing to act in studying and preparing ahead of time to the best of my ability on Faith of receiving this opportunity?
- If I act in faith with studying ahead of schedule and the opportunity fails to materialize, will I regret working ahead?
- If I fail to act in faith with studying ahead of schedule and the opportunity does materialize, will I regret missing out in participating?
- If I were to regret each of the above scenarios, which one would yield the greatest regret?
- "Always put yourself in a position to win" Bill "Congo" Congleton .
- Working ahead seems as the best positioning for winning.
- How are you listening and responding to God's promptings?
- Are you reading God's Word?
- Do you pray, living joyfully and thankfully always?
- Are you immediately responding in obedience?
See Christ, Believe Christ, Achieve with Christ-Act Obediently, Immediately!
Rick E. Meyer
See, Believe, Achieve Inc.
Food for thought, while I organize my thoughts for a full article. Procrastination denies some future Blessings. When we deny doing our chores now, we miss out later opportunities when we finally do our chores.
Conversely, failing to act immediately to promptings from the Holy Spirit is in fact disobedience resulting from doubt (or pride).
"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." James 1:5–8 (NASB95)
Doubt appears in numerous forms, including doubting the validity of a prompting based on the lack of immediate response from someone that I received a prompting to encourage. Yet, the same voice who prompted me with the encouraging message, also strongly reminds me to Trust Him instead of people's responses or response time. Past obedient immediate action to this same prompting voice results in hundreds of validations, including several this week.
Why am I still tempted with doubt about the validity of current promptings? Promptings from the indwelling Holy Spirit virtually always contrasts human logic, displacing human comfort. Additionally, we doubt when placing greater concern of approval from men and women than from pleasing God. My obedience, and YOUR obedience, belongs to only God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! God—the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit—calls us to serve and accept.
The indwelling Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts and minds through promptings, associations with fellow believers, prayer and in our internalizing God's Word—as does faith.
"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (Romans 10:17 NASB95)."
We serve Him in obedience to His word, prayers and correlating guidance from others and promptings, we then joyfully and thankfully accepts whatever He places in our lives.
"aRejoice always; apray without ceasing; in everything agive thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. aDo not quench the Spirit; do not despise aprophetic 1utterances. But aexamine everything carefully;
bhold fast to that which is good; abstain from every 1form of evil. " (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 NASB 95)
Procrastination is choosing Disobedience over Obedience.
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