Today’s Devotional: The problem with procrastination
I’ve been there. You have too. You’re stuck in a situation that has gone sour, without any obvious or easy solution. You just want out with the minimum amount of effort.
Call me a terrible person, but I don’t think I’m the only one who has tried to solve those problems by procrastinating.
The rub, as this devotional from Day by Day reminds us, is that we can never fully solve an issue by simply ignoring it until it goes away. Inappropriate solutions to our problems tend to lead us right back to those problems… oftentimes with added guilt. God wants better for us, and thankfully His Son came to show us a different way of handling difficult circumstances:
Most of us have run away from one thing or another. For many of us, this can be summed up in one word—procrastination. Procrastination is often a way to avoid that which we do not wish to deal with today, and an attempt to outrun it through every tomorrow. And as well as we know that it will one day catch up with us, and that it will probably catch up at a bad time, we continue trying to outrun whatever it is, until one day we find ourselves in desperate times, and falling back to desperate measures. […]
Christ came to set us free from panic laden responses and desperate measure solutions. He desires to bring us peace in the midst of the storm, and quiet in the center of confusion. So where we might have once responded a certain way to our fears and trials, we now respond another. Whereas once we ran from a situation, we now draw near to God. Whereas once we would hold to the quickest way out, we now find the strength to ride it out and see it through to the end. And whereas once we would have responded with running through the list of solutions first, we now stand firm, seek God’s face and pray and spend time in the Word. For the best answers do not come from our anxious seeking, but in God’s movement in the stillness of our precious quiet times.
Are there any issues or relationships you’ve been procrastinating about? How has not resolving your issues hurt you spiritually or emotionally?
Faith without works is dead kind of sums it all up. But action without wisdom is bad as well. I still need work in both areas of my life. But God’s promise is he will finish the good work he has started in me. That promise is for you too.
I need God’s strength to face my addiction and to do difficult school work. Thanks.
Neil, all of God’s best for your life! A loved one of mine just finished the Teen Challenge program for an addiction. It is a 12-14 month program. May you face it and DEFEAT that addiction!
Janice, love your comment. Thanks for the reminder(s)!
A relationship issue that is especially bad to procrastinate about is saying “sorry”. It is hard to say sorry even when you know you’re wrong. But the longer you leave it, the harder it is to say. It really sours the relationship.
Some reasons for procrastinating about saying sorry is:
1. You’re still sore about the issue and want to wait for awhile for the angry emotions to lessen
2. You keep thinking there is a better time to say sorry
3. You’re afraid of the reaction and the rejection – the person may not accept the apology
From the school of experience, there is no better time to say sorry than now. There may not be a next time. The longer you leave it, the harder it is to bring it up. But for anyone who has apologized after agonizing over it, it feels like a great weight has lifted off. It brings you back to peace with one another…and with God.
Do you need to apologize to anyone? Do it now.
“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!”
Psalm 133:1-3
This speaks to me so much. This is the 1st time I have been on here and I have been battling a seperation from my husband for over a year now.Something inside of me has been telling me to break free and finalize the divorce but then I doubt because I am afraid of GOD’S wrath so I have just been lingering on feeling broken and unstable dealing with my husband doing as he pleases with no care or concern for me which constantly keeps me in heartbreaking bondage and affects me spiritually. I pray for a way out of this marriage but am afraid to step out and act-procrastinating.Please pray for GOD’S provision, encouragement and comfort in this situation sisters and brothers. Appreciate it.
Tamara, God will help you. Just trust Him. I have been dealing with a similar issue with my longtime girlfriend. It was my fault in this case, though. I gave her reasons to believe I had lost interest in her. She was so shocked and disappointed. I had never imagined the hurt I would cause her. I searched my heart and was immediately sorry for what I had done. Before God and her, I humbly asked for forgiveness. Love has so far prevailed! If your husband has ever really loved you, I have confidence he will return to you.
Here are a couple verses from Scripture that I found very helpful. As only our God can do over and over again, these will even apply in your specific situation. I hope they are also a blessing to you.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
“For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” –Luke 11:10 NIV
May you feed your faith and starve your doubts.