Don't Wait: By Isabella Morganthal: Day 2 (New Years blog week)

Don’t Wait

Isabella Morganthal

     When was the last time you put off something until tomorrow that you really could’ve done today?

     When was the last time you decided to wait until next summer or next winter to focus on a project, when life gets less busy?

     It can be so easy to put things off until the future. Waiting until the next day, the next season, the next year.

     Oh, tomorrow I’ll write that article or that post or that book. Oh, in the summer I’ll start that ministry because I’ll have more time. Oh, next year I’ll start planning that mission trip.

     But what happens if next year your life is completely different? What if next summer is even busier than your current season of life?

     What if tomorrow never comes?

     Not one of us is promised tomorrow. Not one of us knows what the next year will hold, or even the next hour. The future is not guaranteed to us and all we have is the time in front of us. The minutes passing us every day are a gift from God. Are we embracing that gift?

     “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”

~Proverbs 16:9

     “Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

~James 4:14

     Have you ever planned out your entire day, your whole schedule, and then one problem changes everything? Maybe your car wouldn’t start so you couldn’t go where you wanted to. Maybe you got sick so you had to stay in bed. Maybe there were long lines at the mall and you couldn’t finish all your shopping in time. Whatever it is, more often times than not, our scheduled plans don’t always go according to our schedule.

     Or maybe you’ve experienced something bigger. You had your whole year planned out, everything you wanted to do. You had big plans and dreams. And then something stopped them in their tracks. Maybe your whole life fell apart with a diagnosis. Maybe your world collapsed with an accident. Maybe you lost everything in a sudden change of events. Whatever it is, moments of disaster or trauma that cause things beyond our control, quickly help us realize how fragile life is. And not only how fragile life is, but also how we lack the power to control the future.

     In our lives it becomes so easy to think we have control over what happens tomorrow, next summer, next year. We put things off until then because we assume that we have control over what happens later.

     But the truth is that we don’t have control over what happens at all. The above verse from Proverbs says that while we can make our plans, it’s the Lord that will direct our steps and control what happens next. The control is His and when we try to take it back from Him and control the future we are only putting an impossible, unnecessary burden on ourselves.

     Of course, I’m not saying to not make plans or to not make goals. Goals and plans are great! At the beginning of every new year I set so many goals, I can’t keep up with them all! :) No, what I’m saying is that we can’t place our trust in those goals or in our plans for what comes next, because it’s not guaranteed to us. Instead, we must place our trust in the One who holds our future.

     My challenge to you at the beginning of this brand new year, 2017, is to not wait for tomorrow to start living out your goals or your calling. If you know that God has called you to write that story from your life or to write that book to inspire others, why wait until next year? Open up your computer and start writing today!  If you know that God wants you to start a Bible study or ministry, why not start planning it today and setting things in motion today! I bet in a year you’ll look back and be happy you did.

     This moment is a gift from God, a gift He is asking you to open right this very minute and make it amazing.

     Will you embrace it?

Isabella Morganthal is a nineteen-year-old daughter of the King of kings. She is the indie author of three books and she blogs over at: www.Jesusisworthitall.weebly.com. She is also a YouTuber, drummer, and co-creative arts director for her creative arts ministry with her twin sister. Her passion is to inspire others to live the life God has for them.