“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I am going to strike your entire territory with frogs. The Nile will swarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your house, and into your bedroom and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants, and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls. So, the frogs will come up on you, your people, and on all your servants.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Extend your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams, and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.” So, Aaron extended his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. However, the soothsayer priests did the same with their secret arts, making frogs come up on the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord to remove the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, so that they may sacrifice to the Lord.” And Moses said to Pharaoh, “The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I plead for you and your servants and your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, that they be left only in the Nile?” Then he said, “Tomorrow.” So, he said, “May it be according to your word, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. The frogs will depart from you and your houses, and from your servants and your people; they will be left only in the Nile. “Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had inflicted upon Pharaoh. The Lord did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. So they piled them in heaps, and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.” (Exodus 8: 1-15 New American Standard Bible)
We are all familiar with saying, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” However, we all have had times where we have procrastinated, putting things off that needed our immediate attention to avoid future, definite problems, in the distant future. The leak we were going to fix on a certain day was delayed until tomorrow. The leak turned into a lot of water gushing onto the surface floor of your house. The laundry room continue to be filled with dirty clothes as we brought new things instead of washing the ones we already had. We thought, “Perhaps, I’ll do it tomorrow.” In the meantime, money that could have been used more wisely was spent unnecessarily because of procrastination. The gas gauge on the car was a 1000th of an inch close to “E,” but instead of getting gas right away, you decided you would get it…tomorrow. The next morning, if you were blessed not to run out of gas before you made it to the gas station, you still were filled with anxiety on your way to the filling station. There are many examples I could give, but you have your own instances that you can add to this list about procrastinating until tomorrow.
Pharoah in the long text above changes his mind about letting the people go after the frog issue was remedied. Consequently, his procrastination resulted in facing more plagues as his heart progressively, obviously, got more hardened.
Let me switch to a personal question to make your time reading today’s meditation profitable. Here is the question: “What have you put off in regard to doing what the Lord wants you to do, simply by ignoring His will and living by the adage, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today?” Was it praying more, giving more of your treasure, talents, and time, or was it being a better witness for the Lord? Was it studying the word of God, improving your church attendance and/or ministry participation, or was it living up to your declaration that you would stay on the battlefield until you die? Was it a failure to employ love, forgiveness, and quick reconciliation? Was it a choice to abandon a wicked habit, an immoral thought, or a devious plan to do something, “just one more time?” Back to the general question, “What have you put off in regard to doing what the Lord wants you to do?” To close our meditation today, look at the quote below, of which you may or may not be familiar. Have a great Tuesday. Be blessed!
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King