Procrastination
In our hallway hangs a four part cartoon by English artist Simon Drew. In it four pigs chorus.
Q What do we want?
A Procrastination
Q When do we want it?
A Next week!
We bought this years ago as we love Simon Drew’s quirky and perceptive approach. Little did we suspect that that fun cartoon would sneak up on us years later! Goodness, it applied to us! Or shall we say it did on this one occasion.
In early March, we were at a meeting and a Pastor friend introduced us to his friend, a very prophetically gifted man who tends to sketch out what he sees and hears from the Lord for people. The next day, we met them again at the church for coffee and he showed us what God had woken him up in the night to sketch. That sketch was full of exciting promises which confirmed what we had heard...and a warning. For right there in the middle of the sketch was a tree with an axe laid into it. The tree was labelled ‘Procrastination’ and the instruction: this tree must come DOWN. Oh, good heavens!
We had lived with this without realising it had become a hindrance to us moving forward. This had to be confessed and repented of. Fast. Then we were at a different church the next weekend and the Pastor talked about being ‘intentional’ (a nice sounding buzz word perhaps but in our case it was appropriate!)
We knew what lay ahead involved a lot of action on our part and I guess we had fallen into the trap of putting it off for another day. We were guilty of not obeying other words the Lord had given us earlier or perhaps we just couldn’t see how they all could work out. Obedience and being intentional: they work! We feel we are now back on track, able to go forward and there is a sense of peace and order in what we are doing, and oh boy we are achieving so much more and enjoying the satisfaction of that achievement! It is early days yet and we are choosing to lean into the Lord for Him to guide us and direct our steps. We are so grateful that He took the trouble to speak to one of His sons about us in a church miles from where we live. And speak so graphically.
If you are facing a decision, or thinking of undertaking a task, of course it might be wise to delay going forward as long as you have the peace of God and can sense His timing. Procrastinating, however, is unwise. It bears no fruit, there is no peace and no sense of order; you begin to feel overwhelmed, inadequate and insecure, which is how you know it’s not a Kingdom choice! Just ask Him today if you are holding back from something because He wants you to or because you want to! He will make it clear!
We leave the last word with John Paul Jackson who once wrote, “Procrastination ensures you will barely be able to keep up with yesterday.” That is wisdom speaking!
