In our weekly circle of Bible Journaling, a topic surfaces that slows us all down. REMEMBER.
The Bible references are numerous. The Lord knows we are forgetters – perhaps not so much of the hurts we’ve received, but certainly of His goodness. So He instructions His children to remember. Build altars – that was often the way of remembering in the Bible days. So we begin brainstorming how we might build remembering into our faith journeys.
One girl mentions journaling – not just to record and keep the ways of God in our lives, but also to go back and read them – inviting God’s work in our past to keep sinking into our present.
So last night I pulled out some old journals. Looks like 2004 was when I began. Reading through page after page, two truths surface:
God’s call has become my passion and has not changed in 14 years.
My struggle with procrastination hasn’t made much headway.
And there lies cause for praise and cause for pondering:
How, oh how, will I win the day on delay?
I google, “What does the Bible say about procrastination?” I brace myself for a feeling of discouragement as I begin to click the references.
“Do whatever He tells you.” John 2:5
That’s the instruction from Mary to the servants at a wedding festival with a looming catastrophe. Running out of wine…in those days a terrible humiliation. Mary turns to her Son, not knowing what He would do, but believing He would do something. And then she gives the servants those five powerful words that not only saved the day, but leads to this end of the story: “...and his disciples believed in him.”
Yes, Jesus’ first miracle happened as a result of immediate obedience – the opposite of procrastination. He told the servants to fill six pots of water, and then He turned all contents into wine!
I began journaling the story by listing all the characters “in order of appearance,” as the movie credits do.
Bride and Groom - unidentified
Mary
Jesus
Disciples
Guests
Servants
Master of Ceremonies
Bridegroom
And then I began meditating. What would have been the effect if each of these had my propensity to procrastinate?
I pause to write John 2:5 on a notecard and tape it to my wall. "Do whatever He tells you." Keeping it visible, I am believing, will begin the transform my soul longs to make.
For the past four months I’ve met with a small group of girlfriends as we learn and practice meditation by choosing one verse – or passage – a month to ponder. We’re watching our lives change, by God’s grace. This will be my verse for the month.
Jesus advised His followers to:
“Hear the word, accept it, meditate on it, act on it, and bear fruit.”
Mark 4:20 The Voice
TO CONSIDER: Are you longing for some serious change in an area of your life? Try a Bible search for a truth that might just make that craving a reality.