John 9:4 “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.”

This story of Jesus healing the man born blind is one of my favorites in the whole Bible. I particularly love how the completely uneducated man demolished the arguments of the Pharisees against Jesus, using impeccable logic to do so. My love for that narrative has been such that I don’t think I’ve ever written or preached on this verse, even though Jesus is saying something very important here. The point is that there is a time for everything, as Solomon said so famously in Ecclesiastes 3. This is a powerful statement against procrastination! Sometimes God tells us to do something, but by the time we finally get around to doing it, the time as past, and nothing comes of it. What a waste! I think the vast majority of people struggle with procrastination to some degree, because there are so many distractions. The devil doesn’t have to make us do something bad, if he can only keep us from doing the good that God intends. This isn’t to say that we are to be in a constant frenzy of “working for God.” That sort of attitude puts the focus on us instead of on Him, and it too is not pleasing to Him. Rather, we are to be actively seeking His appointments, sensitive and obedient to His Spirit at all times. Philip comes to mind, who left an active scene of ministry to go to a desert road, simply because God said to do so. As a result, the Church in Ethiopia was born, and continues to this day! (Acts 8) We aren’t to try to define what our work is supposed to be, but rather be fully committed and obedient whenever and however our Lord speaks to us.

I have certainly had my struggles with procrastination, but I was actually surprised when I learned that my father likewise struggled with it. It was surprising, because I always saw him as very accomplishful, which I thought of as the opposite of procrastination. I think it comes down to obedient listening to God. Schedules can be very useful, keeping us from letting things slide, but now I’m retired from school teaching, and my schedule is largely of my own making! Thankfully, I do get nudges from the Holy Spirit about this that and the other, but some things just seem to slide, and I accuse myself about that. I have tasted the joy of meeting God’s appointments enough times that I always want to be sensitive to meet them when He sets them up, but trying to set them up myself never works out very well! I could easily have as much as 20 more years on this planet, so I’m not to be anxious about any of it, but listen and obey faithfully, as He directs, for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. May I be active in my obedience to you, today and every day, so that Your purposes for me may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!