Why Wait?

There is so much to do! Tasha and I have lists upon lists of things to do. We have the physical lists: grocery lists, honey-do lists, the long term project lists, the next-free-weekend lists and kids' lists. We also have our mental task lists. The things we wake up in the middle of the night remembering we need to do. Work tasks that need completed. I have lists of people I should call to catch up with. People I know I should check in with. There is just so much to do and honestly so much of it never gets done or is put on the back burner. We have to prioritize. That means that things don't happen. Especially things that we don't really want to do. And even more so things that are scary or uncomfortable for us to do.

Every time I read Genesis 17:23 and 22:3 I am amazed at Abraham's eagerness to do what the Lord has revealed to him. In both of these verses God has told Abraham to do somthing life altering and unpleasant. First to have himself and all the males in his household circumcised and second to offer his only legitimate son as a sacrifice to God. In the case of circumcision he followed through with the procedure the very same day and in regards to his son he got up early the next morning to carry out the task.

"On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him."
Genesis 17:23 NIV

"Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”  Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about."
Genesis 22:2‭-‬3 NIV

It is here that I am hit with conviction. It was several years ago that Tasha and I first felt that God was asking us to start writing and ministering together. It took us years to just start this blog. Years for us to just start writing when Abraham turned around and was willing to sacrifice his son the very next day. The contrast between myself and Abraham's zeal to follow the word of the Lord is more then just humbling. It is sobering.

I always have excuses. For so many of us we think that it won't hurt to just wait. We tell ourselves that that we will be better equipped for that stage in our lives next year. Or we will be more prepared after we finish this season of our lives. We tell ourselves that we are just too busy to take on any more. We are waiting for the right moment. The right moment to follow God. Here's a revelation... the right moment to follow God is the moment that he asks us to move.

Please don't wait to start any more tasks that the Lord has given you. Don't wait any longer to call that person that you know needs a friend. Don't wait any longer to start that outreach idea that you have been thinking about for the last year. Don't wait any longer to confess that sin that God has been asking you to bring to light. Don't wait any longer to marry that person you should have married years ago. Don't wait to start the family that you know you should.

Don't wait to do God's will.

Each and everyone of us has a purpose on this earth. We all have a role to play in the great tapestry that is God's plan to reveal His love and His glory to the ends of the earth. The things that God asks us to do are important. They have eternal meaning to them. You may never know just how important that little task may turn out to be, but I promise you that it is worth it. And if you refuse, God will find someone else to do His will. He doesn't need you, but He really really wants you to be a part of His work.

God Bless,

Josh and Tasha