“Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel.” (Nehemiah 3:1, ESV)
We have been looking at leadership lessons from the book of Nehemiah. In Chapters 1 Nehemiah set his heart on rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. In chapter 2 he begins to prepare for the task. We come today to chapter 3, and we read how the work finally begins.
There comes a time to do the work. This is often the hardest step. This is the first step. We can dream about the task. We can talk about the task. We can prepare for the task. But there is something different about actually performing the task.
Let me guess that there is something you have been dreaming about, talking about, and preparing for. Today is the day to stop dreaming about it, talking about it, and preparing for it. It is time to do the work. It is time to take that first step.
If you keep putting off, you will be putting off your whole life. There is a name for this. It is called procrastination. There is a whole host of reasons we procrastinate. We procrastinate out of fear. We procrastinate out of laziness. We procrastinate because we are distracted. We procrastinate out of uncertainty.
When we have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in us, we are empowered to move past procrastination. We are empowered to do the work. We are empowered to accomplish immeasurably more than we could imagine.
Reflection
- What are you procrastinating while God is telling you to get to work?
- What are the reasons we procrastinate?
Prayer
Lord, I have been putting off what you have called me to do. You have given me your Holy Spirit to do more than I could ever imagine. Instill in me conviction and faith to take the first step. Amen.
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