Hungry for Cake from Ashley Broadhurst on Vimeo.
Wednesday,
May 15, 2013 ~ Keynote #2 ~ 9:30-10:45am
OVERCOMING
PROCRASTINATION
Alright, alright, I know that was a
silly video, but when I first watched it, I thought, “Oh my goodness…that’s
me!!” I am the world’s worst at becoming distracted and putting my work off. Right
now, I have a job with Solar Under The Sun and a full-time mission role with Living
Waters for the World. I travel to Haiti every other month. I’m a full time
student and a wife and mom. Yet, with my massive to-do lists and priorities, it
only takes one thing to get me sidetracked. Food, ice cream, Facebook, or an
episode of How I Met Your Mother, and
I am a lost cause.
It may seem like an oxymoron, but I
find that when my list is overwhelming, when I have too much on my plate, I
procrastinate the most! I know there are things to do, and I say “yes” to so
much that I end up worrying about what has to be done instead of actually doing
it. Do you ever feel that way?
When I am overwhelmed with work,
school, and life, taking time out to read my Bible and pray is the last thing
on my list. I mean, those are worthy causes to be distracted by – saving the
world with clean water and solar power, studying in seminary – but it’s not
taking time to focus on Him. Sure, I’ve declared my major, I have said I was
going to be a follower of Christ. But are my actions matching my words? Am I
walking the walk or just talking the good talk?
Take a look at Matthew 4:18-20:
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two
brothers, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net
into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I
will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
In verse 20, it says “at once” and in
verse 22, it says “immediately.” No anxiety. No angst. No questions. No
ponderings. At once, immediately they dropped everything. That’s the commitment
Jesus was looking for in his followers.
When those who minor in God are asked
about when they will get serious about their commitment to Jesus, the most
common answer is tomorrow. There is a tendency to treat our relationship with
Jesus like the diet we keep meaning to start. “I’m going to start eating
right…as soon as I finish off this chicken chimichanga. Tomorrow for sure.” We
treat our relationship with Jesus like the workout program we keep meaning to
start. We go to bed telling ourselves, “Tomorrow I’m going to wake up early and
exercise.” But the following night, we find ourselves getting into bed
promising, “Tomorrow for sure.”
On the invitation Jesus gives us to
follow Him, there is an RSVP date and it reads TODAY! The word tomorrow is not
in the Holy Spirit’s vocabulary. When Jesus calls us to follow, He means right
now. He means today. No more procrastination.
The question is, how long have you been
saying tomorrow. Technically, if you said it yesterday, then today is tomorrow
and that means the time is now. But even as you hear this and agree with it,
there are probably a few of you who are sounding like this man:
Luke 9:57-62
57 On the road someone
asked if he could go along. “I’ll go with you, wherever,” he said.
58 Jesus was curt: “Are
you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.”
Jesus said to
another, “Follow me.”
59 He said, “Certainly,
but first excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have to make arrangements
for my father’s funeral.”
60 Jesus refused. “First
things first. Your business is life, not death. And life is urgent: Announce
God’s kingdom!”
61 Then another said,
“I’m ready to follow you, Master, but first excuse me while I get things
straightened out at home.”
62 Jesus said, “No
procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till
tomorrow. Seize the day.”
I have a friend named Joe who is a few
years older than me. He told me about going to church in high school and really
feeling God calling him to get serious about a relationship with him, but Joe
said, “I will, but first let me graduate from high school. I’ll get serious in
college.” Joe graduated from high school and in college God was once again
calling him to be a committed follower and again Joe said, “Absolutely I will,
but first let me graduate from college.” After he got his degree God said,
“What about now?” And Joe said, “I will, but first let me find a job.” He found
a job and became consumed in his work. But he promised God, “I’m going to get
serious about following you, but first I’m going to get married and let things
slow down.” Eventually he and his wife got married and had two girls. When the
kids were young, he and his wife talked about getting back into church, but it
never seemed like the right time. For more than twenty-five years, Joe was a
fan of Jesus and cheered Him on from the sideline, but when it came to being a
follower, Joe told Jesus tomorrow.
People put off following Jesus with
their whole heart. For years they tell Jesus, “tomorrow.” For many minoring in
God, I’ve discovered tomorrow only becomes today when a tragedy strikes and
dreams may be shattered. I could tell you story after story about fans who had
told Jesus “tomorrow” over and over, but it was when life suddenly became
overwhelming that tomorrow became today. Jesus hasn’t just been whispering “follow
me” to some of you. He’s been shouting, hoping to get your attention before you
lose any more time in the land of tomorrow.
The most dangerous part of following
Jesus tomorrow isn’t what you will lose between now and then. That’s not the
worst thing that can happen. The worst thing that can happen is that tomorrow
might never come. The truth is the longer you put Him off, the more likely that
following him will never happen. Saying “tomorrow” to Jesus is like hitting the
snooze button on your alarm in the morning.
Remember the video? The guy looking for
cake? He got it. Sure he was distracted. He was procrastinating. But it only
took him minutes to sit down and realize his life needed to get on track. He
found his focus in God.
For many of you, now is a time of great
transition in your life. Many of you have just graduated, or many of you are
entering into the final semesters of your college career. There are questions
as to what’s next, where will you go, what will you do.
The nerves are there. You’re anxious.
You’re afraid. You see others who seem to have their lives together, others who
appear confident in what they will do. You don’t trust God in the gifts He has
given you. You don’t believe He will guide your way. But God has given you
everything necessary to succeed. Look at the Romans 12 chapter. If you preach,
just preach. If you help, just help. If you’re an encourager, do it! Whatever
He gave you, focus on it and use it. Stop being overwhelmed. Stop
procrastinating and just do it.
You know, now that I’m reading this, I
really see where I need to work, too. All week I have been saying, “Wow, when I
grow up I want to be like Dave. Or gosh, I wish I could sing and play like
Beth.” But God did not give me the gift of preaching or the gift of music. He
gave me the gift of service. I love being out in the mission field. I love
being in Haiti. Heck, I practically live there. I love working with the teams
and being immersed in the culture. I love seeing a child drink the first sip of
clean water from a newly installed system.
So perhaps I am standing here finally
understanding this passage too. It’s time to stop being envious of others’
gifts and be confident and thankful for what God has given me. And that is
enough.
As Jesus told the man in Luke… Carpe
diem! Seize the day! No more procrastination… No more backwards looks. No more
waiting. It’s time to put aside any other thoughts…and go to Him. Be
transformed. Focus on what God has given you and He will guide your path. Major
in God.
