“The longer the delay, the higher the stakes.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – November 10, 2021
Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. Jeremiah 26:13, NKJV
Over the past month, my garage door has become slightly misaligned. While it is still able to open and close, the sound of metal grating and scraping, plus the way one corner hangs down lower than the other tells me something has clearly gone wrong. As a homeowner, I am learning to accept and even anticipate these everyday annoyances. If not the garage door, it will be something else that needs my care and attention, however much I would love for it to not be the case.
Sometimes, the needs of a home are so severe that they require immediate attention. A flooded basement or electrical fire cannot be ignored or dealt with over the weekend! However, like my garage door, there are plenty of maintenance items that need to be addressed, yet can be delayed and even ignored for weeks or even months. And if I’m truly honest, no matter how illogical it may be, there’s a small part of me that believes these problems will simply go away if ignored or forgotten long enough!
The temptation of delayed maintenance extends into every area of our lives.
Just as my garage door will not magically fix itself, neither will we grow in faith and virtue apart from disciplined devotion and intentional steps towards maturity. As we are reminded in Jeremiah 26, we must amend our ways and our actions and become obedient children of the Lord. This requires decisive action and intervention, identifying the places in our hearts and lives that are in disrepair and bringing them to the Lord for healing and renewal.
My inattention to home repair needs may be easy when they are small and seemingly insignificant. Yet given enough time, they will inevitably grow in their severity and significance. A small adjustment to a garage door becomes a full replacement door. A leaky faucet becomes a full day’s work for a plumber. A tiny gap in the front door ends up costing hundreds of dollars in heating bills due to lost efficiency. Simply put, the longer the delay, the higher the stakes.
In your own life, do not ignore the maintenance needs of your soul. Sin and sickness that is left unchecked will threaten to overtake you. Seeds of lust, anger, and jealousy may seem controllable or insignificant early on, yet can grow to the point of disaster, threatening to overtake and dominate your entire life. And so, in every area of life, seek to amend your ways daily, submitting yourself to the way of Christ and following as he leads.
Prayer
Father, help us to not ignore the need for repentance and repair in our lives, and give us the courage to turn to you every day for healing and hope, we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
What maintenance needs in your life and soul have you put off and neglected that need to be addressed today?
Related Reading
Deuteronomy 30:2; Isaiah 55:7; Joel 2:12
Worship Resource
Shane & Shane: Hosea
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