Here is a question for you.  Why don’t we listen to God and believe what He says in the same way we listen to weather forecasters?  Seriously, think about this for a minute.  At the simple threat of an ice storm; schools were closed and dismissed early, people worked from home, businesses were shut down and grocery stores were cleaned out.  When was the last time you acted that quickly when hearing from God?  Or when was the last time you trusted what He said that completely?  Before I go any further, let me share a couple of disclaimers:

• I’m not bashing weather people; they have a thankless job and are expected to have control over the weather and to be able to predict the future. They are just people, like us, trying to do a job.
• I’m just as guilty as the next person in this area. I bought in to what I was being told, went to the grocery store along with everyone else, and made no plans for the entire weekend because I thought we’d be iced in.

I was reading in Isaiah 6 this week.  In this particular chapter Isaiah has a vision in which he sees and talks to God.  I guess you could say, this is when he was called into service.  The thing that struck me when I was reading was the immediacy of Isaiah’s responses.  First, in verse 5 when he says: “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Isaiah sees God and immediately is confronted with his sin and unclean nature.  No one said to him “Isaiah, you know you are a sinner and really aren’t clean enough to be standing here” No, he just knew.  And he immediately confessed as much.

I couldn’t help but wonder about myself in this situation.  While I have never had a vision like Isaiah’s, I have been in God’s presence.  In fact as a Christian, His spirit lives inside of me, in a way I am always in His presence.    So, why am I so slow to recognize and deal with my sin at times?  Why do I justify and try to put off dealing with it?  I realize most of us would act differently if we came face to face with God, but should we?  Jesus died to save us and forgive us of our sins; every single one of them has already been dealt with and paid for.  If I really believe that, why do I refuse to recognize my sin and confess?  Why do I make excuses or try and justify my feelings and/or actions?  What makes me believe it’s okay for me to hold on to sin and remain in God’s presence?

I have to admit that I do not know the answer to the questions I am posing; they are just things I have been pondering lately.  My guess is that my lack of and delayed responses have something to do with pride.  Pride sucks!

The second time we see Isaiah’s immediate response is in verse 8: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!””  The question is barely out, and Isaiah is volunteering for duty!  Again, I am confronted with my own delayed responses.  How often do we feel called to do something and put it off? Or say things like: let me think about it, or I need to pray about it, or maybe next week or next year, etc..  Now, don’t get me wrong here, I do believe we need to pray about decisions and be wise about what we commit to.  But too often, at least for me, these are just excuses to put off doing what I am feeling called to.  I’m not just talking big decisions here like teaching a class or going on a mission trip or changing a job.  There are many smaller promptings that we encounter every day.  Things like, calling a friend who has been on your mind, telling someone you a praying for them, talking to that parent at school or practice or the gym, inviting that family member to church again.  The list could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.

“Slow obedience is no obedience” maybe you have heard or even used that phrase yourself.  I know I have.  The same applies to us I believe. Putting things off or not acting on promptings can cause missed opportunities, missed blessings, and missed chances of seeing God work. When you and I don’t respond that doesn’t stop God from working, it only means we don’t get to be a part of it.

For me personally, simply writing today is following through on a prompting that I have been putting off and avoiding.  It has been easily a month since I sat down and wrote.  Why?  I have been asking myself that same question.  It’s hard, I put undue pressure on myself, I have unrealistic expectations, it takes time and I have been trying to do it on my own instead of waiting for and then acting on those promptings I get from God.  Yet again pride rears its ugly head.  Like I said above-pride sucks!