The Time Is Now

Each week I watch people struggle with the decisions they know are right. The Lord convicts them. Yet, they can't see anything but the struggles and they walk out doing nothing. How long do they think they can keep that up?

One of the hardest things in the world is making peace with someone who you believe will rub it in your face. It is hard to say, "I'm sorry," to someone who will say, "Of course you are!" Yet, that is exactly what has to happen. Sometimes the Lord tells us to make peace at any cost. The Holy Spirit convicts us. Our relationship with the Lord becomes stale because we delay doing what He has told us to do.

There are many other things that people fail to do even though they know the Lord wants them to. They know He wants them in a vocational ministry but they delay doing so for various reasons. They really don't realize that delayed obedience is disobedience. They don't realize that the opportunity may not be here tomorrow.

Maybe the most important thing is a word from God that tells you to witness to someone.

A friend came and asked me to go with him and visit someone who was in the hospital. This person was dying and didn't know the Lord. I said I couldn't because I was too busy that day. The one in the hospital went into a coma the next day and never recovered. The opportunity came and went.

Many people fail to do what the Lord is leading them to do with their children or their spouses. They are so wrapped up in other things that they fail to notice that time is passing. The opportunities are passing too.

Not everything we are called to do has a tomorrow. There are some things that must be done now. Most of these things don't have indicators which let you know that the time has expired. You think you can do it later but later is not a privilege we are promised.

The Israelites thought they could make the decision to go into the Promised Land after they had already refused the Lord. They were wrong. They had only one opportunity. No one is promised a second chance.

The time is now. It always has been.

What does the Lord want you to do?

Numbers 14:40-45 (NIV)
40 Early the next morning they went up toward the high hill country. "We have sinned," they said. "We will go up to the place the Lord promised." 41 But Moses said, "Why are you disobeying the Lord's command? This will not succeed! 42 Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, 43 for the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword." 44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord's covenant moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah. +