And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the LORD. And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not.
2 Chronicles 24:4-5
I read a story about a missionary family serving in the country then known as Zaire. Their son was playing in the yard in front of the house when his father yelled, “Philip, obey me instantly! Drop to your stomach!” Without delay the young boy did as his father commanded. “Now crawl toward me as fast as you can!” The boy again obeyed immediately. “Stand up and run to me!” Philip responded unquestioningly and ran to his father’s arms. As the young boy turned to look at the tree by which he had been playing, he saw a large deadly snake hanging from one of the branches! At the first command of his father, the boy could have hesitated and asked, “Why do you want me to do that?” He could have casually replied, “In a minute.” But his instant obedience without questioning saved his life.
When God tells us to do something, there is no good excuse or reason for delay. While in most cases there is not a deadly snake that we can see as an immediate threat, there is a subtle serpent who is quite pleased when we fail to obey promptly. Satan knows that the longer we put off doing what we know is right, the less likely we are to ever do it. The reality is that none of us know what the future holds. We may be sincere in our intentions about doing something later, but we cannot control the future. “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1). Instead of delay we must commit ourselves to prompt and complete obedience to whatever God tells us to do.
