About That Task You’re Putting Off

We want to see God do grand and glorious things in our lives. So why don’t we see it?

In 2 Kings 5, we read the account of an Aramean army commander, Naaman, who was struck with leprosy. He went to Elisha the prophet for healing, and the prophet gave him a simple act to carry out: wash seven times in the Jordan River. That was it. Naaman was initially offended because he was this great military leader, yet he was not being asked to do something grand and glorious fitting for a man in his position. So, what’s a great man like him to do?

Naaman could’ve altered the plan and dunked himself in a river close to home, but that wouldn’t be obedience—and it wouldn’t bring restoration.
Naaman could’ve left for home, believing in the truth of Elisha’s words and restorative powers of the Jordan River, but that wouldn’t be obedience—and it wouldn’t bring restoration.

What did he do? Naaman obeyed this simple command and received the healing he needed.

Why do we often have the hardest time doing the simplest things God asks of us? Sure, we’re going to obey God and do it, but we’ll do it tomorrow. When that thought enters your cranium, let this thought also come in:

Delayed obedience is disobedience.

I don’t know who first said this (but a dozen preachers would like to take credit for it), but it rings true. And maybe that’s why we don’t see God doing great things in our lives. Maybe God has something “grand and glorious” He wants to do through you, but He won’t show you the next thing to do until you obey the last thing He told you.

Delayed action can be detrimental for us. Just ask James Swinburne. Swinburne was an electrical engineer, and he was trying to find a way to insulate electrical wiring. (If you’ve ever touched a wire that wasn’t wrapped in insulation, you know why this was kinda important.) Folks had already played around with two compounds, phenol and formaldehyde, but Swinburne discovered a way of heating them together and shaping the new mixture into something useful. We don’t call it “baked phenol and formaldehyde;” it has a simpler name:

Plastic.

Plastic is a huge part of our lives, and we could be thanking Swinburne for his discovery, but he delayed in patenting his invention. When he finally got around to taking it to the patent office, someone had beaten him to it—by one day.

Swinburne was the first to invent plastic, but he would not reap the benefits of his discovery.

When God gives you an opportunity, take it. When He gives you an assignment or command, do it. Don’t delay, no matter how easy it might be to procrastinate. Maybe you’re the next Swinburne and you need to get down to the patent office. Maybe you’re a Naaman, and you need to put your faith in action in the simplest way. We often overlook the simplest actions, but God can do great things through the simplest task—if we’ll only do it.