Without Hesitation
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
Most of us, if we are honest with ourselves, have at some point heard God calling or nudging us to take some specific action. At one time or another, we have probably experienced the whisper of the Holy Spirit encouraging us to make a course correction in our life. Maybe He is calling us right now. How will we respond? Will we jump to the call? Will we hesitate to act? Or will we simply ignore God’s call altogether? Please read more.
We all know the old saying “He who hesitates is lost.” There is a lot of wisdom in that statement. This is true for many aspects of life and it is especially true for our spiritual life. When a person spends too much time deliberating about what to do, they risk losing the chance to act altogether.
Procrastination is defined as, “the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished by a certain deadline. It could be further stated as a habitual or intentional delay of starting or finishing a task despite knowing it might have negative consequences.” Hesitation and procrastination might be a more acceptable option if we had an infinite number of days in which to accomplish things, but we don’t. Life is fleeting, our days are numbered, and only God knows when He will call us home.
In James 4:14 it states, “You have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow, you are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears.” It goes on to state in James 4:17, “So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.”
The recent tragedy that took the life of Kobe Bryant and eight other people, including several children, was a stark reminder that life is often cut short. We don’t have the luxury of doing tomorrow what needs to be done today. In Matthew 4:18-22, we read about Jesus calling Peter and Andrew with these words, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” We are told, “at once they left their nets and followed him.” As Jesus walked on further, He saw James and John and called them too. We read, “immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.” These men did not hesitate!
Is Jesus calling you to do something right now? Are there some things that the Holy Spirit is whispering in your ears to either do or stop doing? Have you been hesitating and procrastinating?
Are you being called:
- to help someone in need
- to visit someone in the hospital or in prison
- to seek help for addictive behaviors
- to forgive someone
- to call someone who is sick or lonely
- to go into ministry
- to go on a retreat or go on a mission trip
- to work at the soup kitchen
- to overcome some bad habit
- to avoid gossip
- to speak to someone about Jesus
- to defend your faith
- to comfort someone who is dying or someone who is grieving
- to join a Bible study group
- to meet weekly with other Christians to discuss your faith
What is the voice of God calling each of us to do right now? Will we respond without hesitation like the four Apostles did? Perhaps, instead we will offer God some excuse as to why we must delay.
In Luke 9:59-62 we see this, “To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Jesus also makes it clear in Luke 12:16-21 that we can’t wait until tomorrow to respond to the things He is calling us to today. He told a parable about the rich man who was storing up his treasures from an abundant harvest for his future. In the parable God says, “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?”
In Hebrews 3:15 it tells us, “Oh, that today you would hear his voice: ‘Harden not your hearts as at the rebellion.'” Most likely each one of us knows God is calling us to something. Let’s respond without hesitation and not harden our hearts to His call. Let’s not procrastinate. Our time is limited. We can’t wait until tomorrow.
Heavenly Father, it is so easy and tempting to put something off to another day. It seems at times that the demands of this world cause me to ignore or to postpone responding to your call. Give me the strength I need to take the right action today. Amen!
As always, I love to read your comments below as well as hear from you personally by clicking here.
- Following From A Distance - April 21, 2024
- Eclipsed By Darkness - April 14, 2024
- Insurmountable Opportunities - April 8, 2024
Thank you so much Brian for your “Without Hesitation.”
NNVang
Noo
You are most welcome! Praise be to the Holy Spirit who inspires the messages that I write.
Brian
Brian: Thank you Bob Lange and you, Brian. For a year, I’ve been struggling with something I learned about another’s addiction, yet I’ve been AFRAID to do anything about it. Looking back, God’s answer was right in front of me, and I ignored it. How many times have we sung the beautiful hymn “Be Not Afraid?” It’s time to move the ship out of the harbor.
Jane
I am glad the Holy Spirit spoke to you through these messages. May God be with you as you set sail. Bon Voyage!
Brian
Brian my daughter is lost into drugs, the family try to help her ,but she won’t except the help. She call to ask for money, but I won’t give her any so she hangs up the phone, and I don’t here from her in weeks. I raise her in the catholic church, went to a catholic school, but after she turned 15 she just wasn’t the same anymore. I pray for her that god will guide her. I hope you will see my message. Thank you and god bless.
Maria
I could hear and feel your pain in the words you wrote. I wish there was something I could do to help you and help her but I don’t know what to do other than to pray. I would share this with you. For years I had some areas of struggle in my own life. Those struggles seemed to make no sense. I constantly prayed to God to fix things but they didn’t change. Then, 8 years ago, God spoke to my heart and called me to begin this ministry. Now I look back on the 42 years that I struggled, and I see God working through all of my suffering. I now think of those years as “earning a 42 year PhD” in human suffering and I am drawing on those experience to try to help others through this ministry. God can draw straight with crooked lines. St. Monica prayed endlessly for Augustine and eventually he came around. Maybe this is your daughter’s time in life’s desert. Some of the most beautiful flowers in the world only bloom in the desert. I know your faith is strong. Trust in God to send His Spirit to lead your daughter. No matter what path she chooses to follow, God will always have her in the palm of His hand, and He has you too!
You and your daughter are in my prayers.
Brian
Brian,
In reading this week’s letter, I also wonder why we hesitate. There may be many reasons, but three come to my mind. It would seem we hesitate because of complacency, ambivalence or fear. Complacency causes us to cling to what is comfortable. We spend our lives “feathering our nests” where it’s warm and cozy and we don’t leave it. And in our complacency, its cousin ambivalence makes an appearance. Whatever is put before us just isn’t worth the effort. And besides what difference does it make anyway.
And finally – fear, the champion reason for hesitation. Whatever I’m being called towards has risk and the risk carries a chance of getting hurt. So we hesitate, we delay and finally we just stop.
But this is not what a life worth living is all about. It has been said “a ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” Imagine the dilemma this creates. Do we stay safely docked in calm water or do we release and set sail into the unknown – to be what we were created to be?
Bob
Thank you for your thought provoking post. It makes a perfect addendum to today’s message! As you know, Broken Door Ministries is focused on helping people deal with their fears. “BE NOT AFRAID” is a core theme in the New Testament. Jesus is always saying it. We need to fear less and trust more!
Brian