Do the Next Thing

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

Why are so many things on our “to do” lists left undone?

I have been reading an instructional book about taking a blog and turning the contents into a book. (Blog to Book : Repurposing Content to Discover the Book You’ve Already Written, by Cathy Fyock).

As I am reading I am making little notes in the margin to mark things that might be challenging for me. The word I have written most often is “discipline.” Ms. Fyock gives many suggestions about getting organized, searching through old writings, and taking time EVERY. DAY. TO. WRITE. For me, these would require a discipline I am not exercising right now.

I wish I could tell you that my lapse in discipline was due to summertime life.

It is amazing when one considers the things that we leave undone:

• wiping up a spill

• folding that load of laundry

• finishing that letter

• writing that thank you note

• washing the sink full of dishes

Not one of those things takes so much time that we should be putting them off “until we have time.”

Why not just do it? Why put it off? For most of us,we would not fall behind or miss one significant thing we have to do if we took the few minutes required to complete the tasks we put off, the ones we claim there is just not enough time to accomplish.

There are many distractions in this life, especially in this age of social media and the availability of so much to read and engage in on-line. It requires a great deal of self-control to “turn our eyes from looking at worthless things” (Psalm 119:37) and turn back to the work before us.

Discipline, or self-control as it is sometimes called in the Bible (Acts 24:25, Galatians 5;23; 2 Peter 1:6), requires effort and perseverance. It requires numerous decisions every day (sometimes every hour) to do the next right thing. That is the thing that has moved to the top of the priority list so that everyone is cared for and the home is orderly enough to accomplish some other work (like that daily writing if you’re a writer).

Self control is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23). It is available to you and me if we are true children of God. How do we (I) justify not exercising it when we know what needs to be done?

Rest is not sin. I am not saying that we should be busy every moment of the day. What I am saying is that I can see how distracted I can get from the work the Lord has planned for me to do (Ephesians 2:10 at the top). Someone once taught me that “delayed obedience is disobedience.”

Will we remove the things that distract and delay us and turn to the work we have been assigned by God? Will we do the next right thing, knowing that this is where the blessing of the Lord will overtake us (Deuteronomy 28:2-14)?

Preaching to my own heart, here!