How Long Will You Wait?

How Long Will You Wait?

by S.D.Hitchman 

 Apparently Pablo Picasso once said:

Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.

Interesting thought. This puts a new spin on procrastination. It shows us that procrastination is a tool for prioritization. Whether actively or passively, when we ‘put off until tomorrow’ we are making choices. Both the things we do ‘today’ and those we delay until ‘tomorrow’ reveal our values. You might even say that we always do the things we really want to do.

In the eighteenth chapter of Joshua, the leader of the Israelites observes the divvying up of the recently possessed Promised Land. Five tribes have their allotments. Seven have not. Forty years of wanderings in a desert followed by the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River and conquest of Jericho have effected five tribes’ action. Seven remain in passivity. In exasperation, Joshua challenges the hangers-on:

How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you (Joshua 18:3, NIV)?

Perhaps this is a call many of us need to hear regarding our prayer lives. What if we were to imagine our ideal relationship with God. How much would we praise Him? How often would we thank Him? What great mysteries would we want explaining by Him? How often would we sit at His feet in quiet comfort? Let’s call all of this our Promised Land.

Might it be fair to say that having been given new life in Christ we have come into our inheritance?

Is not communion with God something waiting
to be possessed by those who will actively choose it? (tweet this)

I hear those words, “How long will you wait?” speaking directly to me.

My prayer life must expand. The territory is vast. (tweet this)

It’s flowing with milk and honey, clusters of fruit too large to carry. To have been given the opportunity to communicate with the Creator of the Universe is an awesome gift. Enough passivity; no more procrastination.

I am not willing to die having left undone
a greater focus on prayer today. (tweet this)

How about you?

Sue Hitchman

Sue  seeks to integrate the adventure of following Christ with her roles as wife, mother of five, co-leader of a women’s Bible study group and parent prayer group, and retreat speaker.  She is a member of The Word Guild and NCWA. Outdoor pursuits (cycling, gardening, hiking, & kayaking) remind her of God’s creative bent and constant presence. She writes to encourage others in their journey of faith in God.  Visit her blog at: Word Made Flesh

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• Am I Mule-ish? (underthecoverofprayer.wordpress.com)
• A Prayer (7): A Procrastinator’s Prayer (theaspiringadventist.wordpress.com)