Jan 5, 2017 – Matt 4
At once they left
their nets and followed him. Matt 4:20
When Jesus asks, act
immediately ... hesitation leads to failure.
Someone once said: “He who hesitates is lost.” I don’t know how lost they might be, but
certainly the one who hesitates loses an opportunity.
Lost opportunity is not uncommon. We are given new opportunities every day --- when
to get up, what to eat, what to wear, where to work, and much more. Opportunities may be large or small, but one
thing is consistently true: every opportunity has a short lifespan. The key to opportunity is discerning quickly
and taking action. Hesitating either
closes the door of the opportunity, or permits someone else to take advantage
of it. Many times, the hesitation itself
creates negative inertia that is much harder to overcome. Failure comes because we didn’t act, or
because we didn’t give it our all.
Action doesn’t guarantee success, but hesitation guarantees failure.
While life offers opportunities, Jesus doesn’t. He offers callings. Periodically in life, He makes a request and
gives us the option to act on His prompting.
Normally it’s not multiple choice, Jesus is clear in His request. Often, Jesus warns of the costs, and shares a
simple vision of where it leads. Seldom
does Jesus tell us all the details, and He prefers it that way. After all, callings are not about knowing the
cost, but pursuing no matter what the cost is.
So in the moment Jesus makes the request, our answer will either immediate:
take action or hesitate.
That’s where Peter & Andrew found themselves when Jesus
called them to become His disciples.
After a teaching session in their boat, Jesus invited them to a new
mission in life – catching men’s souls instead of fish soles. Given the situation, many good intentioned
people would be slow to respond, hesitating to consider the cost. But these two brave men didn’t hesitate. They just got out of the boat, left
everything behind, and started following.
Not only did they take action, they took it immediately.
Faith is learning NOT TO HESITATE. When we believe fully in Jesus, it doesn’t
always mean we have to leave our careers
or dreams behind, but it does mean we start taking action immediately whenever
Jesus asks us to do something. That
could be feeding a homeless person, forgiving an enemy, sharing your testimony,
giving to the work of the Church, or a hundred other instructions. Faith doesn’t hesitate, it takes immediate
action.
You may feel like you missed out on a calling. Many people do. Don’t waste time rehearsing the past. Choose today to take action whenever Jesus
asks. Decide to trust in His calling,
and act immediately. No more hesitation,
no more regrets. Get out of your boat
and leave the nets behind. They will be
there if Jesus has you return. Make
hesitation a thing of the past and discover the calling as you obey. You’ll be glad you did.
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