"Oh I'll just wait until tomorrow"
Take a lesson from the ant, you who love leisure and ease. Observe how it works, and dare to be just as wise. It has no boss, no one laying down the law or telling it what to do, yes it gathers its food through summer and takes what it needs from the harvest. How long do you plan to lounge your life away, you lazy fool? Will you ever get out of bed? You say, "A little sleep, a little rest, a few more minutes, a nice little nap." but soon poverty will be on top of you like a robber; need will assault you like a well armed warrior.
Ecc 10:18 (THE VOICE)
The roof sags over the head of lazybones; the house leaks because of idle hands.
One morning during prayer the Lord spoke to us. He said, "Procrastination will cost you dearly in this season." With His words still ringing loudly in my spirit I begin to meditate, so I went to look up the word procrastination, and it is defined as the act of WILLFULLY delaying the doing of something that should be done. Let’s be honest for some of us this is how we handle life. While this word itself is not found in the Bible, we can find some principles to help guide us.
First we really need to understand that God despises procrastination, or idleness as it is called in the bible. Let's be honest slothfulness has caused us to suffer consequences that could have been avoided had we not put off what we could do today, tomorrow.
God has dealt with me heavily about procrastination or being idle because there is always time to be productive. The word says, " A little sleep, a little rest, a few more minutes, a nice little nap." but soon poverty will be on top of you like a robber; need will assault you like a well armed warrior."
Procrastination is your enemy! It will rob you of any success you think you should have! Ask me how I know...
I have dealt with this issue for many years, and it has caused me to miss out on a lot of great opportunities that as I look back could have been great for my family and I. Everyone that knows me know that I love my bed (it's funny, but true). And sometimes it's a struggle to get out of the bed especially when I know that there is something that needs to be done.
I have been rebuked by the Lord many days, because it became a habit to put everything off until the next day, then when the next day came it would be put off again. When the deadline was close I would get all anxious trying to rush, while getting mad at anyone who had something to say. It was just a miserable place. It wasn't until I took a look at myself to really see that I was being selfish. I said with my mouth that I would do whatever it was, but in my mind I said, "I can do it, but it won't get done until I GOT READY TO DO IT." How selfish is that? VERY!
The bible says, "Therefore, to Him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin" (Jas.4:17).
I knew what to do, but I choose to wait, I choose to be idle for my own selfish reasons, and that in the eyesight of God was sin.
I needed to get to the root of my issue. Why was this my way of life? Lord what is the root of this behavior?
See I am convinced that in order to deal with an issue we have to lay an axe to the root, and in order to do that we need to KNOW what the root is.
I read an article by Rick Warren, entitled "Why do I procrastinate?" In this article he gives us 5 biblical reasons that we struggle with procrastination.
1. Indecision. "A double minded man is unstable in ALL he does." (James 1:8 LB) We can't decide on anything. Have you ever sent a waiter away at a restaurant because you couldn't make up your mind? Indecisiveness will cause us to postpone buying a car, choosing a college, getting married, buying new clothes, changing a job.
2. Perfectionism. "If you wait for perfect conditions, you'll never get anything done!"(Ecclesiastes 11:4 LB) If you wait for things to be perfect, you're going to wait a long time. You don't have the time or the money for things to be perfect.
3. Fear. "The fear of man brings a snare." (Proverbs 29:25a NKJV) Have you been postponing going to the dentist? Or having that needed surgery? Or getting into marriage counseling? Sharing your faith at work? Ask yourself, "What am I afraid of?"
4. Anger. "A lazy person is as bad as someone who is destructive." (Proverbs 18:9 GNT) Procrastination is a way to get back at people we don't like. We delay. One of the reasons may be that we are resisting control. Procrastination is passive resistance. I don't want to do it because I don't like you telling me to do what I have to do. Anger causes us to put things off.
5. Laziness. "Lazy people want much but get little, while the diligent are prospering."(Proverbs 13:4 LB) We live in a time and age where we want everything given to us. The value of working hard has become foreign. If there is an easy, but not necessarily the best way some of us will prefer the easy way instead of putting in the work If it's easy, we like it. If it's hard, we don't like it.
I thought these were good examples of why we fall into that destructive habit of procrastinating. If this is your struggle REPENT QUICKLY! Turn away from this horrible time wasting mindset and make the conscious decision to not put off what could be done today, tomorrow.
The bible tells us to "redeem the time". We have to make better choices with how we prioritize our time. Get out of the bed! Get up and do what is required of you. I guarantee your life will be so much easier. I guarantee you will get along with others better. I guarantee God would be pleased when you are about His business in a timely manner.
Don't allow procrastination to rob you of the rewards you could have if you do what is right the first time.The next time you find yourself procrastinating about ANYTHING, stop and ask yourself what is the cause; then ask the Lord for help. He will help us when we ask. Those of us who deal with this have to make a conscious decision EVERY DAY that this will be a day that I will not procrastinate on ANYTHING!
Make that a declaration in Jesus name, for as you declare a thing in the earth it shall be established!
God bless you
Prophetess Shaquita Jones
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