"WHY DO WE PROCRASTINATE"

Good Morning All,

Today's subject is one that I believe we all need to take a hard look at, and we should do this now.

Webster's Dictionary defines the word "Procrastination" this way: To put off intentionally and habitually - To put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done - Delay - Postpone - To put off intentionally and reprehensibly the doing of something that should be done.
It seems that no matter how much time passes man never changes. From the begining of time man has always had the attitude of what ever suits me.

In Joshua 18, Joshua "asked why some of the tribes were putting off the job of possessing the land" (Procrastination). Why do we often delay doing jobs that seem large, difficult, boring, or disagreeable? To continue putting them off shows lack of discipline, poor stewardship of time, and in some cases, disobedience to God. Tasks we don't enjoy require concentration, teamwork, twice as much time, lots oe encouragement, and accountability. remember this when you are tempted to procrastinate.

Men, how many times has your wife asked or maybe even begged you to complete a do it yourself project. Now, let's be very honest, how often was your reply that I'll get around to it, and six months or more passed without the task being completed. When we procrastinate we're not putting our best foot forward. II Chronicles 12:14 "he did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord". Rehoboam's story is tragic because he "did not set his heart to seek the Lord". It is dangerous to put off responding to God. God asks us for a firm commitment, and unless we respond by trusting him completely, we find ourselves aliented entrusting - everything - Our lives families, jobs, possessions - to his control and guidance. To commit ourselves to the LORD means to trust in him (Ps. 37:5), believing that he can care for us better than we can ourselves. We should be willing to wait patiently (37:7) for him to work out what is best for us.

In all we do, we must trust the LORD. Psalm 9:10 "And those who know your name will put their trust in you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you." friends God will never forsake those of us who seek him. To forsake someone is to abandon that person. God's promise does not mean that if we trust in him we will escape loss or suffering; it means that God himself will never leave us no matter what we face. Take a moment and reflect on a bad time in your life last year. While going through it I'm sure that you cried out to the LORD. Sometimes we make promises to God that we never keep. As we think back to our worst time, a time in our life were we felt that no body knows what I'm going through. Our Father God knows what we are going through at any given time. I believe that he allows us to go through such things so we can mature in his ways.

In Exodus 14:10-11 Trapped against the sea, the Israelites faced the Pharaoh's army sweeping in for the kill. God's people thought they were doomed. After watching God's mighty hand deliver them from Egypt, their only response was fear, grumbling, and despair. Where was their trust in God? Israel had to learn from repeated experience that God was able to provide for them. If I'm totally honest the same goes for me, and I'm ashamed to say so. God has preserved these examples in the the Bible so that we can learn to trust him the first time. Friends by focusing on God's faithfulness in the past we can face crises with confidence rather than with fear and complaining.

Think about it, that trouble you were in last year or that situation that you feared there was no way out, you came through it. Think about it you always come through, God has promised to never leave you nor forsake those who belong to Him.

Until Next Time, Know That God Will Be With You...

Jim