Four Reasons To Push Past Procrastination

One man who was accused by his wife of procrastinating replied, “I’m not procrastinating, I’m just putting it off until later!”  What is that one thing you have procrastinated on, but you can put off no longer? Like Popeye, you’re saying “I can’t stands it no more!” As the pastor of a 200church, your church is waiting on you to make the call, they are waiting to take your lead. We cannot afford to be timid.

We want to end the week by challenging you to make a commitment. What is the one thing you’ve thought about for a long time, but have never pulled the trigger on? Is it a financial goal, a fractured relationship that needs mending, a business decision, a personal health plan, or a ministry initiative? 

Here are four reasons why you should no longer put it off:

1. Moving ahead will increase your faith and trust in God. When we push forward toward a goal or a project, we say yes to God. We say, “Yes God, I know you can help me with this. Yes God, I believe you’ve created me for this. Yes God, I will trust you with the outcomes.” When we accomplish that thing which has dogged us for far too long, our faith grows stronger as we learn to rely on God even more deeply.
2. YOLO. I know, some people don’t like that acronym, and they’ve probably got some good biblical arguments against it, but… who cares?! J  We really do only live once on this earth, and we need to take advantage of every opportunity to serve God and others, and to love God and others. We need not waste any more time. Let’s go for it! Man up and Woman up! Let’s get off our Blessed Assurance and gain some yardage.
3. Other people are affected by our decisions or indecision, by our actions or inaction. Likely “that thing” that you’ve been putting off will have a direct effect on someone’s life. If not, it probably would not be worth worrying about. So how much longer do people have to wait for you to act? Our spouses, our children, our neighbors, our friends, and our church family will all learn by our example. Let’s set some good examples for them.
4. We can’t go back and start again, but we can begin today to make a brand new end! I heard John Maxwell use that quote decades ago, and I’ve never forgotten it. We only have today. Yesterday is gone, and it’s not yet tomorrow. Too many people allow today to be influenced by yesterday’s failures. It’s always today, and whatever we do today can change tomorrow and neutralize yesterday. We can’t go back, but we can begin today to change the ending of the book!

As Yogi Berra once said, “we’re lost, but we’re making good time.” Stop living lost. Find yourself and start moving toward a goal. Make good time by working today on that one thing that has been dogging you for years. Make it happen. While you’re at it, love God and love others. Serve God and serve others. Make a brand new end!