Do it Now

Josh Knipple knows the right words to use. You will love and appreciate his message. Thx Josh, great as usual.

I LOVE SUMMER, I really do. Now I know that not all parents out there might feel the same way, but for us it truly is a blast… most the time.

Having the kids at home and all the adventures. My wife being off from school, and the memories to be made. This year in particular seems like it is flying by. Between camping, day camps, baseball, soccer, it is crazy to realize that our summer is over halfway over. (Cue the commercials on tv about it being time to start school shopping.)

Now that I have told you all about how much I love summer, this year I have also realized something that totally gets under my skin like none other. The words “Wait” “Hold on” or “in a sec.”  Our kids have gotten in the habit, especially the twins, that when you ask them to do something, they look up at you and go, “in a second.”

If they actually got up and did it, such as a simple task of getting the dogs food, then it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. For them though it seems five minutes will go by and I’ll see the dog dishes still empty. “Evie, did the you get the dogs food?” Barely taking her eyes off the screen, she will look up at me, “I forgot.”

Trying not to raise my voice I will repeat my initial request, “Can you get the dogs food?” Again, she replies with, “Wait a minute.”

Really? Did you just say that after you forgot a moment ago. “No, I am asking you to do it now.” Then the eye roll comes, and that is what drives my wife nuts, like we ask our kids to do a ton of stuff around the house. Especially at bedtime, it seems like they will do everything in their power to stay up. “Girls, go do your teeth, change your underwear, it is time to settle.” You would think their entire list of things for the day, now has to be done. Anything to distract them from actually laying down. “In a second, wait, hold on.” If we could have forbidden words in our home, they would probably now be at the top of our list.

The last few weeks God has really been working on my heart about this idea personally. How many times in life are we the same way, acting like the kid. Telling our Heavenly Father, “Wait, hold on, or in a a second. Maybe it is something that God has been convicting you to do for a long time and you just keep putting it off. “Maybe when I am older, once I settle down.” It could be as simple as God convicting you to reach out to your neighbor, and you just keep filling your schedule with other things to avoid what you know He is calling you to. How about on a Sunday morning at church, hearing the message, being convicted to forgive someone, and you put it off with the excuse, “Well God if I see them this week, then maybe I will.” Only to forget by the time you hit the parking lot. We are forgetful people. Do you remember when people used to tie a string around their finger to remember to do something, only to forget what the string was for. (Yeah I’ve done that before too).

Nowadays it is more like when Linds gives me a list of stuff to pick up at Walmart. Before I leave the house I will even repeat it back to her, only to find myself wandering helplessly around the aisles trying to-remember. Can you imagine with me real quick if God was putting a list together for us of things in our lives to do? How many of us would say, “Hold on, wait a second, only to then forget.”

Sometimes in life I believe there are moments where God will convict us to do something, that He is calling us to do in that moment. Now. Not in a few moments, not wait but NOW!

Scripture says that Today is the day of salvation. Not in a little bit or when we have our lives all together. Jesus also spoke of “Let the dead bury the dead” in Luke 9. I would encourage to look up this passage because what He is teaching is an urgency. It is not a waiting game in following Christ. Many of His teachings are in the present tense, calling His disciples to do things now.

What is your response to Him when he calls you to do something? “In a minute, wait?” I read recently, and I want to finish with this thought, “Delayed obedience is  disobedience.”  Seems kinda harsh right? Or is it because he know we will forget? What is God calling you to do today? Just a few thoughts of a dad trying to learn about God from a child’s perspective.

Make it a Satisfying Saturday! God is good…