Procrastination

Have you ever had one of those days when you’re literally running through your house because you need to leave for an appointment, BUT there’s something you HAVE to do first?

I have a confession to make:

I had a writing assignment due early one morning. That same morning, I had a doctor’s appointment.

Of course, I should have managed my time better. It’s not like I didn’t know the deadline. It wasn’t like I was clueless about my doctor’s appointment.

While I was running down the hallway after my purse, I was begging God to help me with everything – that the writing would be what He wanted and that I wouldn’t be late to my appointment.

I finished my assignment and made it to my appointment on time.

Praise God!

And yet, in the midst of my mad dash that morning, I prayed and asked God, “What’s wrong with me? Why do I do this?”

And here’s what I learned:

I procrastinate. (Big shocker, I know.) I thought I was waiting on God to lead me with writing. But the truth, I was pushing if off to the side because I had other things I wanted to write.

AND sometimes I let fear tag along – that bratty little sister to big brother procrastination. I get fearful that something is going to be too hard or that I’m going to fail, so I push it aside. As if somehow waiting will make it easier. Oh, sure. It was so much easier that day when I was brushing my teeth while looking for my car keys.

So, my problem that morning wasn’t that my plate was too full. My problem was ME and the way I procrastinate.

Do you struggle with this too? Are there things you KNOW you need to do, but you think it can wait? Or maybe you’re afraid so it just seems easier, safer to put it off until you feel stronger and you’ve got your act together.

Look back at my story for a minute. I sure didn’t have my act together when I asked God to help me AFTER I procrastinated. Thankfully, He did.

But even though He did help, even though God DID do a lot with the little bit of time and the little bit of focus I gave Him, I have to wonder what He could have accomplished if I would have given Him more?

What can He accomplish through YOU if you stop procrastinating and give Him more of your time, more of your focus?

The world may be waiting to see.

“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

(Ephesians 5:15 NIV.)

Waiting

Just a little Spark.

“Wait for the Lord;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the Lord.”

-Psalm 27:14 NIV.

Still Eating Sand?

Have you ever been excited about something new? Ah yes, that new car smell comes to mind.  Or maybe a new job has your mind spinning and pumping with adrenaline.  Or perhaps something like a new hairstyle and a new pair of boots has you grinning a little bit more and walking a bit taller.  “New” does not always mean “stuff.”  In fact, I like it more when “new” is from God:  a new approach to someone who’s grumpy, a new and exciting task we never thought we could accomplish, a new door we never noticed.

So what’s our part in “new” when God’s at work? Wait and pray.  Watch and be excited.  (This is coming from God…it could be anything!)  And be willing to accept change.

Wait a minute. Change?  What if we don’t want to change?  What if we like things nice and comfy and predictable?   Do we really have to change?

If you want something new, yes, you need to be willing to change. I need to be willing to change too.

I mean, I used to eat mud pies and crunch on a little sand from time to time in our sandbox in the backyard when I was a little girl, BUT thankfully God lifted me up, wiped the mud and sand from my face, and guided me through years of changing from that little girl into a woman who wants to make Him smile; my heart set on Him and my eyes fixed on the horizon for whatever He doesn’t want me to miss.

Let me put it this way, you only have two hands. You can either hold a mud pie in one hand and clutch a handful of sand in the other OR you can drop them both and pick up the “new” God has for you, the “new” He has specifically designed for you at this very moment in your life.

If you’re trusting God and not running away from change and His “new” for you like it’s something dreadful lurking in the shadows, it may possibly emerge as one of the biggest surprises and blessings of your life. So don’t run away.  Just sit tight and wait on God to introduce you to this change, this “new” He has for you.  You don’t want to miss it.

I’m sure it will be a whole lot better than sitting in the sandbox eating sand.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”  (Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV.)

The Cave

God first gave me this article to write for The Outreacher, but now He’s wanting me share it here.  Someone must be hurting…  I’m praying for you, my friend.

Do you feel broken? Do you sense that things are not okay in your spirit and you don’t know how to fix them?  You’re not alone.  I’m with you in the brokenness, and I know God is with both of us.  That’s just the kind of awesome and faithful God we have.  He told me to “be real” when I started to write this because we need to peel away all the layers, the defenses, and even the phony masks to get to the truth.  Spiritual brokenness is painful.  But God wants you to know He is with you right now.

Being broken is like being in a very dark cave.  David hid in a cave while on the run from Saul.  Are you running or hiding?  I’m not either.  I think sometimes God allows us to have time in the cave to revamp our focus.  When we’re out in the bright light of our lives, there are so many distractions, so many things for our eyes to see, so many of our own senses to rely on that we sort of forget to lean on God.

But not here in the cave.  In the cave you can’t rely on yourself.  You can’t trust your own judgment and your own senses are even distorted.  You learn here that it is God who is truly trustworthy.

Protection. God just whispered that to me.  Time spent in the cave can also mean God is protecting us from something, an individual, or a situation.  I have to wonder sometimes if He’s protecting me from myself.  Maybe He’s protecting you from you.  Do you drive yourself crazy trying to figure everything out and fix it?  Do you let go of God’s hand and run ahead of Him because you just can’t wait any longer to see where He’s leading?  I do all of those things.  And the waiting, I’m learning, can be nothing short of excruciating.  Maybe being in the cave is teaching us to be still and remember Who it is that’s in charge.

God does a lot of teaching in the cave.  Remember, all the distractions and busyness are hushed as they’re left outside.  He wants more for you.  He wants more of you.  He wants you to hear His voice; what loving father wouldn’t?  So He teaches you to reach out to Him, to listen deeply in your spirit for the Holy Spirit’s leading.  He’s training you to have eyes that see and ears that hear in a place where your physical eyes and ears are practically useless.  And He’s nurturing your heart to be so tender you not only dream of Jesus while you’re asleep but while you’re wide awake too.

Yes, life will move quickly outside the cave and you’ll feel like you’re missing out.  But you’re not missing out on what God has for you.  Again, He has so much more for you.

Some may call to you, try to shine a light, throw you a rope, but not many will understand why you choose to stay here.  This cave is the place where you and God are meeting for a season, a time for you to learn total surrender, humility, and complete obedience.  Maybe you don’t feel like much is happening right now.  That’s okay.  Much is happening in your spirit as He transforms all of your brokenness into the complete vessel He created you to be.

And when the time has come, when God knows you are ready, He will gently take you by the hand and walk you right out of this cave and into the glorious light of a new dawn; a wonderfully new and powerful dawn.  God is going to use you.  Just be still and wait.  And know this, I’m waiting with you and praying for you too.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10 NIV.)