I said, “Do it NOW!”

Wow does that phrase bring back some memories…cringes…sassiness….LOL! It also brings back some memories of what I have had to say to my own children now that I’m the parent. Quite a phrase huh?

Although, I believe Jesus does not speak to us in this way and definitely has more patience with us than I do with my kids, I wonder if sometimes He knows my stubborn heart so well, this exclamation is required to get my attention; just as my parents did.

I have been doing a Bible study by Priscilla Shirer titled Discerning the Voice of God. This week’s study is about responding to God’s voice and today was about responding immediately. She shares a story of being in a relationship in college and seminary that God had clearly told both to end. Neither wanted the relationship to end despite God’s clear direction. The gentleman in the relationship eventually listened to God’s leading and ended the relationship. Priscilla shares how much heartache she suffered by not obeying God immediately and how much regret she had when she realized that the man she is now married to was going to her church while she was resisting God in her previous relationship. She potentially lost precious time with her husband because of her unwillingness to obey God immediately.

She followed up this story with an example from the Bible (Abraham and Isaac – Genesis 22:2-3) and a question for her readers: Has the Lord given you instructions this week to which you have taken too much time to respond? Let’s just say that my instructions were not this week and I had a couple that I could have listed. But the one I thought of almost immediately was this blog.

Last week I received a comment on my email from someone who had read my last blog. It was posted so long ago I’m not sure of the date off the top of my head. The comment was positive and this anonymous reader had been sent to my blog by a friend. I had also received a comment on the same blog post maybe two or three weeks ago. These comments pleasantly surprised me and encouraged me. Maybe I shouldn’t have stop posting.... I had allowed my schedule to keep me from posting regularly and then allowed some discouragement about lack of comments and visits to my blog to keep me from doing what I know God wanted me to do. I had not responded immediately like He wanted three weeks ago and not last week, so when reading this chapter in my study I decided that it required immediate attention. Hopefully by being so honest with you, my readers and those trying to be or thinking about being in relationship with Jesus, I will be held accountable to posting like God has asked me to do. We don’t know the plans He has for us, nor do we always know the plans He has for our required obedience. I have to remember that my obedience or disobedience effects more than just me. Selfishness…maybe a topic for another post, I guess I don’t realize how selfish I can be with my time and my decisions.

Priscilla made another very good point that actually prompted me to write this blog. “God speaks with perfect timing. Our response should be immediate obedience.” (pg 114)

As we complain and cry over God and His plans and awful timing, could it be that the poor timing is due to our poor response time? Something to think about...

Has the Lord given you instructions this week to which you have taken too much time to respond?