For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm,well-balanced mind and self-control] (2 Timothy 1:7 AMP).
At first, when we look at society, it seems that there is too much to do on any given day. Mundane tasks such as getting from point A to B, washing clothes, heating our homes, and gathering food take less time now than 100 years ago. Information technology has given us access to knowledge from great minds. Much of this information preceded the information was gathered by candlelight and oil lamps. These minds did not have a mechanized process of retrieving data, artificial intelligence, word processing to write books, research theories, and mass media communications. However, with all of this high speed technology even the sluggard complains of not enough time. Could procrastination be the cause for not having enough time.
Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Procrastination involves putting off necessary tasks until the last minute or ignoring them altogether. It is possible to fill our day with busywork and non-essentials and miss strategic
deadlines or stress ourselves by trying to do things at the last minute. We often blame the lack of time or time management for missed deadlines, forgotten appointments, ignored essential requests, or missed opportunities. Sicknesses such as headaches, high blood pressure, diabetes can be a signal of stress in the life of a person that procrastinates, which complicates the situation
even more. In large part, procrastination reflects our perpetual struggle with moving in the power of God and maintaining self-control as well as our inability to predict how we will feel tomorrow accurately, or the next day. We are presumptuous that we can depend on another day when God has instructed us in Proverbs 27:1 – “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”. We are not to live as though tomorrow will come or that we are in control of all the circumstances that tomorrow will bring. Procrastination ignores our inability to know the
future accurately. We are to depend on the Lord to give us what we need in even a given day. According to Matthew 6:25-34:
Therefore I tell you, stop being worried or anxious (perpetually uneasy,
distracted) about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow [seed] nor reap [the harvest] nor gather [the crops] into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by worrying can add one hour to [the length of] his life?
Overcoming procrastination is possible when you realize that at the root of procrastination is fear. According to several Christian blogs, there are at least 365 references to “fear not” in the
Bible, which indicates to me that God understands the impact of fear on our lives.
Fear will stop a person from living their highest and best life. According to Webster’s Dictionary 1828, fear is painful emotion or passion excited by an expectation of evil or the apprehension of impending danger. Fear expresses less anxiety than dread, and dread less than terror and fright. The anxiety caused by fears brings an uneasiness of mind. It might be a fear of success, failure, rejection, or fear of the unknown. It might be on a conscious level or at a subconscious level, but it is often why a person procrastinates. In 2 Timothy 1:7, the Greek word for fear is “deilias,” which means cowardice or lack of bravery. God tells us not to be a coward but to face situations through His power, His love, and personal self-discipline. II Timothy 1:7 refers to the difficult tasks of sharing the good news of salvation, but salvation is not just about going to heaven or hell. The good news is about the reconciliation of man back to God. God desires that humanity transfers citizenship from the kingdom of this world to the Kingdom of God. Our lives are to reflect ambassadorship in the
Kingdom of God to a world in chaos and confusion. To do this, we must be open to Holy Spirit, showing us the fears that cause us to procrastinate and to be open to His instruction on how to
make changes in our lives so that we can stop procrastinating.
References:
Websters Dictionary 1828 – Webster’s Dictionary 1828 – Fear.
http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/fear