Jul
25
Delayed Growth
Filed Under Devotional
About a year out of college, I was working in the high tech field back in the same general area that I grew up. I remember clearly the day I went to get fast food and recognized the cashier at the drive through. It was a guy I had graduated high school with. He and I had played pick-up basketball during the lunch hour almost every day back then. We said hello and chatted for a second, but it was awkward. He knew that I had gone to college and had a good job. And, he couldn’t hide what he was doing. That moment stuck with me.
It was not a case of me being smarter or more capable than this guy. It was a case of motivation. He had not been interested in doing much schoolwork and, I suspect, either did poorly in college or avoided it altogether. There he was, five years later, realizing that he was behind the curve. He could have had a good job. He could have been the guy in the car and not the guy with the headset, but it would have taken more effort and the motivation to do it without delay. He could be where I was, but it was going to be later in his life. He had delayed himself.
I think God has an amazing plan for all of His children, but we can delay the plan by dragging our feet. When we avoid His direction or ignore His guidance, we don’t frustrate His plans, we simply delay them.
“I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.” Psalm 119:60
This is not just out of obedience, but for our own sake, too. When we don’t follow His commands, we aren’t disrupting His plans. He’s patiently waiting for us to get our act together so we can move forward. We are only delaying our own progress.
Don’t waste time with the world. It’s no different than skipping class in high school. It may have been fun for a season, but it means you’ll start further back with the important things of life later on.
Don’t delay your own growth.