Why Did You Wait So Long?

I did it again! I went a whole month without posting a blog. Why did I wait so long?! I have been asking this question to myself a lot lately. 

Why did I wait so long to go back to school?
Why did I wait so long to finish that task?
Why did I wait so long to fix that relationship?
Why did I wait so long...

Believe me, I could keep going with hundreds of things in my life that I waited too long for. Some I have finally finished for others we are past that point. I'm sure you could fill in the blank with your own unfinished items in life. 

I think somewhere between kindergarten and senior year in high school we perfect the art of procrastination. There is such a thing as Procrastinate on Purpose, which happens to be the title of a great book on time management by Rory Vaden. But this is not that kind. This is the, I don't want to complete this math assignment because I would rather play basketball, kind! There are a few reasons we wait so long to ask for a first date or to finally mow the lawn:

1. Fear

What if I don't do well? What if she says no? We could go on and on with excuses and reasons why we can't (or rather won't) do these things. Why not conquer that fear and try something new today! I would tell you to turn that fear around on itself. Why don't you instead be afraid of what you might be missing out on? What new thing might God have in store for you? I am, in fact, afraid of missing an opportunity God has for me because I waited too long to work on myself or take that step of faith. Yes, I fear what others might think or say, but I am more fearful of what my Father in heaven might say. "To fear the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom." Let's start here!

2. Busyness 

When walking down the hall where I work, I have people always asking, "how I am doing?" Or, "how's your day?" I started noticing a while back that my response was often, "busy." I didn't even give them the obligatory, "good!" And the truth is, I am busy. I wear a lot of hats. I am a youth pastor. I oversee a ministry with a lot of moving parts, from four life groups to a middle and high school program to a fine arts program and much more. I am also a husband. In fact, I am a husband first. I want to please my wife. I chose to do life with her, not have her come along for my crazy journey. This takes work. This makes one busy. I am a father to three kids. You all know how busy kids schedules can get. (When did I start living for them?!) I lead a ministry school in it's beginning stages and that takes work. I want to be available to students who need someone to pour into them as they are discovering God's plan for their lives! 

I am not trying to impress you with my busy life. In fact, I'm sure your busyness could easily compete with my busyness. I don't think our busyness should be an excuse for waiting. Busyness does not equal procrastination. Which quickly brings me to my next point.

3. Priorities

Most of us do not have the luxury of deciding what we should or shouldn't be doing at any given time. Things have to get done whether we want to do them or not. (Procrastinate on Purpose is a great resource to help with this!) What we can do is prioritize. We can make conscious decisions to elevate one thing over the other. If we do not make this decision, the decision will be made for you. I know I am tired of having a task dictated for me because I waited so long to accomplish it, that now it rules my life. I rule my life, not a task. The moment I pushed it away and said not today, is the moment it took control. We could all spend a little more time learning to be efficient in our everyday lives. Hebrews 12 tells us to "throw off everything that hinders us from running our race with perseverance." (my paraphrase) 

Most importantly, keep God first. Make His desires your desires. Make His commands your commands. Learn to lean into Him in the difficult days and run with Him in the exhilarating days! Don't miss out on His will and purpose because you "waited too long." And please, don't miss out on an incredible eternity because you waited too long to take the step of faith and ask Jesus Christ to be Lord of your life. It is and will forever be worth it. 

​Stop waiting and start living!