One author defined procrastination as “a mechanism for coping with the anxiety associated with starting or completing any task or decision.” However, this definition appears to be something like a justification or reason for delaying doing what you know must be done.
Procrastination, the habit of putting off for tomorrow what was supposed to have been done yesterday, occurs in many areas of our lives, and it impacts us tremendously. It molds us in the realm of professional mediocrity, stifles our personal development, kills our productivity, and interferes with our family time. But most of all, procrastination destroys God’s plan for our lives.
Imagine, if you will, God Himself asking you:
“How long will you [take to do that thing you know needs to be done]?"
Throughout the Word of God, the Lord addresses our tendency to procrastinate. If you have been reading The Word of God regularly, this phrase should stand out to you: "How long will you...?" This question is posed more than 20 times in the Word of God, and in each case, the Lord calls the individual to act.
Let's take a walk through His Word together.
He says, "How Long Will You...
Refuse to humble yourself before me? (Exodus 10:3)
Refuse to keep my commands and instructions? (Exodus 16:28)
Treat me with contempt? Refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? (Number 14:11)
Grumble against me? (Numbers 14:27)
Wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you? (Joshua 18:3)
Stay drunk? Put away your wine. (1 Samuel 1:14)
Waver between two opinions? (1 Kings 18:21)
Turn my glory into shame? Love delusions and seek false gods? (Psalm 4:2)
Love your simple ways? Mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? (Proverbs 1:22)
Lie there you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? (Proverbs 6:9)
Harbour wicked thoughts? (Jeremiah 4:14)
Be unclean? (Jeremiah 13:27)
Wander, unfaithful Daughter Israel? (Jeremiah 31:22)
Cut yourselves? (Jeremiah 47:5)
Be incapable of purity? (Hosea 8:5)
For God to ask the question "How long will you...?” means that He has been speaking to the individuals about the recurring issue(s) or besetting sin(s) for a long time.
This means that they have been diligent in their sin, or to put it into context, they have not procrastinated in walking down a sinful path, but instead, have procrastinated in turning from their sin, and submitting to the Lord. The prophet Elijah put it this way in 1 Kings 18:21...
‘Elijah went before the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.’
God was asking Israel: ‘How much more time do you need in the vacillating realm? ‘How much more time do you want to waste being double-minded?’
When God asks ‘How Long?’ understand that He is indicating to us that we are actively moving away from wholehearted devotion to the Lord. Elijah rightly pointed Israel to the unwavering position declaring: 'If the Lord is God, follow Him'.
Consider one last example. In Revelation 2:4, after highlighting all the good points of the church of Ephesus, Jesus said: "But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first."
What area of our lives have we abandoned The Lord in? Where have we departed from Him?
The gracious Lord calls out to us in all His Love and says:
"Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first." He calls us to first REMEMBER, then to REPENT, then to DO. This is the salvific progression to beating procrastination.
So, instead of holding on to ungodly habits, attitudes and tendencies, let us avoid procrastinating in the things of the Lord, and do what we ought to do.
Are you tired of procrastinating in the things of the Lord? Check out the devotional, 21 Days to Overcoming Procrastination. It is a great Biblical tool that will teach you how to overcome procrastination and achieve far more than you ever imagined!
Lisa Cowan
The Design Orator & Co.
