Today is the day. If you’re like me, you probably have a deadline today as well. It is the last day to send packages by postal service. Yes, I have a package to get out and yes that means I’ll be standing in line with some of my closest friends to get the package to Ohio for Christmas.

I tend to aggravate myself when I wait until the last moment to get something done. Whether it’s shipping a package, writing a blog post, or preparing my home for guests, when I put things off, I only cause more stress for myself. So why do I do it?

Who knows? There are many excuses, but none are sufficient or make me feel any better.

God knew that we would have a problem with procrastination, so He has given us a good number of passages that speak directly to us on this topic. Let’s look at just a few of them to see what He has to say.

We’ll begin in the Old Testament. With the sayings of a wise man, Solomon.

“The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.” (Proverbs 13:4 – NIV)

“Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.” (Ecclesiastes 11:4 – NIV)

Part of procrastination is laziness. These verses clearly tell us that when we are lazy, we are not productive. We cannot expect to produce anything good in our lives when we are lazy. It just doesn’t work.

In the New Testament, we see Jesus speaking with a few prospective followers. To one, Jesus spoke of His nomad lifestyle in response to the willingness to follow Jesus anywhere. To another, Jesus spoke of burial in response to a request of waiting for his father’s burial. And to another, Jesus warned of the importance of moving forward in response to saying goodbye to family members (Luke 9:57-62).

The message was clear. Nothing should keep us from following Jesus. We must not wait. We must be intentional and immediate in our actions. We must not procrastinate.

If procrastination is an issue for you, here are a few verses to help you along the way to becoming better time manager of your life.

First, we must give it to God. Proverbs 16:3 (NIV) says, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” What a promise for us to hold on to. If today you know you have a long “to do” list, commit it to God. He would love to share this day with you!

Then we need to ask God for His help. God’s strength is available for us. Philippians 4:13 (NIV) reminds us, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

We may need to ask for help from others. Solomon knew the importance of good counsel. “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” (Proverbs 15:22 – NIV) And in Proverbs 20:18 (NIV), we see, “Make plans by seeking advice, if you wage war, obtain guidance.”

And finally we read in Ephesians 5:16 (NIV) to “…make the most of every opportunity…” It’s time for us to stop procrastinating and make the most of our days and our lives.

Now I know you’re saying, “But there are other ways to get a package to Ohio and their deadline isn’t today.” Yes, that’s also true. But if I don’t do it today, I’ll just be in line next week. Someplace else. With a different group of people. So I’m opting to get it done today.

What are you going to get done today? What have you been putting off for another day that you can do today? Do you, like me, need God’s help in getting it done? Then may I suggest we all look to Him for our strength today. Maybe today isn’t going to be so bad after all.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna