“I’ll start Monday.”
“Once work slows down, I’ll have more time.”
“Too much going on with the holidays. I’ll start when they’re over and kids are back in school.”
Let’s face it, we are busy people. There are always things going on and there are no signs of life slowing down.
Kids. Work. Sports. Church. Spouse. Friends. School…
This ever-growing list is the perfect excuse for not taking action.
I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news first: there is no perfect time. Your calendar isn’t likely to suddenly unschedule itself, like the parting of the Red Sea.
Now for some good news: there is no perfect time.
Why is that good news? Because it frees you from searching for something that doesn’t exist. It removes the excuses you’ve been telling yourself to avoid taking action. It brings honesty front and center and forces you to deal with it.
And you know what else? It’s Biblical. Solomon talks about facing the uncertainties in life in Ecclesiastes.
Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. –Ecclesiastes 11:4 (NIV)
When you wait for everything to line up just so, you’ll be waiting forever. The Living Bible translation puts that same passage this way:
If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.
As a personal trainer, I hear the time excuse maybe more than any other excuse. I get it. We all have a lot going on in life.
Yet just because I understand the excuse doesn’t mean I agree with it. I have a maxim that you may not want to hear: We do the things we most want to do.
If it’s important enough to you, you make time for it. That’s why I don’t ever say, “I don’t have time for _______.” Instead, I’ll say, “I won’t make time for ________.”
The time excuse certainly isn’t limited to fitness. Perhaps you’ve put off daily quiet times because you can’t create the ideal schedule for them. Maybe you’re not having regular date nights with your spouse because the calendar is packed with other stuff. Or maybe you’re not in church regularly because you’re too tired on the weekends from all your activities during the week.
Keep in mind, this is part of the enemy’s strategy, to keep us “busy,” too busy for things that matter most.
He’ll even deceive us into wearing our busyness as a badge of honor. It’s as if activities equals productivity and productivity equals worth.
He will also trick us into thinking that if your fitness (or quiet times, date nights, weekend worship, or ___________) isn’t happening every day without fail, it’s not worth doing.
And to top it all off, when you do skip it, he’ll heap some guilt on you for caving. Insult to injury.
It doesn’t have to be this way. We serve the Great Redeemer. Our God is the God who put the hands of time in motion. He has the power to slow the clock on our behalf so that we can honor Him mind, body, and soul.
If you truly want the things you say you want, the things He wants for you, stop watching the wind.
Don’t stare at the sky or wait on the weather.
To reap you must plant.
The day has come.
There is no better time to live life than to live it today… by His strength… for His glory.
WHAT IS HOLDING YOU BACK? HAVE YOU BEEN WAITING FOR LIFE TO SLOW DOWN? IF THAT’S NOT THE PROBLEM, WHAT IS? MAYBE WE CAN HELP?