Procrastination is all about excuses. The excuse you have today will most probably be the excuse you will use tomorrow. It is a very accurate statement that “tomorrow” can only be found in the calendar of fools. Where do you fall in the area of “procrastination?”
Did you know that “procrastination,” which means delaying higher-priority tasks in favor of lower-priority ones, can be responsible for more frustration, stress and underachievement than any other single factor in our lives? It breeds emotional pain, devastates personal relationships, wrecks any attempt at effectiveness and keeps anyone from moving forward.
I am guilty many times of putting off two of the most important things that I deem necessary to lead an abundant life of significance. These two things are: a personal quiet time (time with God) and exercise. NO ONE CAN do these two things for you.
I can’t tell you how many times in the past I allowed other things to take precedence. Looking back over several years I realize the root cause was a lack of planning and executing. A.K.A. procrastination. Being jolted, for a lack of a better word, into reality of where I was…and looking at my “life score card” and detesting what it read….brought me to the realization that I had no one to blame but myself.
I can honestly say that reaching the place of realizing that NO one is responsible for your life but YOU is the VERY BEST THING anyone can do for themselves. The choices you make are yours. No one can change things unless YOU DO. Seeing the need to take personal responsibility for your life….all decisions good and bad …even if your intentions were good…but follow-thru faltered ….….means TAKING FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR LIFE.
Taking personally the scripture found in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
To truly accomplish God’s good, individual plan for our lives cannot be done by procrastinating. It requires planned action on our part and making SURE WE ARE Living HIS plan HIS way. It requires…TIME WITH HIM….and taking care of the “TEMPLE” He blessed us with so that we can DO (action word) His “GOOD WORKS”.
Scripture describes for us a sluggard. I would venture there are similar characteristics between the sluggard and the procrastinator. For instance, “A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied” (Proverbs 13:4). And the sluggard is told to learn from one of God’s very small creatures, the ant, in Proverbs 6:6-9. “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?”
I encourage you with this today…..if you feel stressed…frustrated…stuck…or lost even……TAKE THE TIME….don’t make the famous excuse, “I have NO TIME”. Examine your life. Realize it is NO one’s job to do this for you. IT is my/your/our job…to take a look and inventory…our steps…and allow God to direct necessary changes….and redirect our direction.
He is faithful to “clean up, wash away and bring about” good things. Our job is to stop making excuses…and GET BUSY…..doing the things that matter. The “rudder” that steers our lives….is small. It is in our “daily, intentional decisions” but it can take our “ship” to new places…direct us out of “dangerous weather”……and into “thriving waters”….where our “sails take advantage of the wind” and carry us to places…of “significance”.
Never put off until tomorrow what YOU CAN CHOOSE TO DO TODAY.
“You may delay, but time will not.” ~Benjamin Franklin