Some time ago I was sitting in my gallery and talking with my wife Leslie. During that conversation she suddenly remembered that there were clothes in the dryer for an excessively long period of time. Apparently the timer on the dryer has been malfunctioning, so instead of counting down until it turns the machine off. The timer remains stuck in one position causing someone to manually turn off the machine after a predetermined amount of time.

Upon remembering this pressing issue she immediately called our 9-year-old daughter to go and turn off the dryer. Leslie instructed Maya once and she did not move. She called a second time but yet again Maya did not budge because she was too busy being caught up with the television. So much so that Maya responded by telling her mother, “JUST NOW!” I could not believe what I was hearing from young Maya. She was putting her mother on hold to do her own thing.  Maya in her own wisdom felt that she could have acted whenever she wanted and minimize the call. Maya did not see the big picture (looming fire hazard) nor was she concerned about long term implications.

I just could not leave this alone knowing the urgent dryer issue at hand and the risk it posed, coupled with Maya’s attitude. So I intervened and called out to my daughter to come now because her mother is calling her.

I must admit that I got infuriated with my daughter. I remembered when my parents use to call me I would have galloped at their first beckon without hesitation. So how come it is taking my daughter 3 calls from two parents before she can favorably respond?

When Maya appeared I forthwith addressed her reluctant attitude while specifically singling out her disrespectful, “just now” comment. While my tongue lashing was in progress God instantaneously convicted my spirit. He reminded me that on numerous occasions I treated Him the same way.

Many times the Lord would have called me to execute His will and I did the exact same thing as Maya. I would have ignored Him and put His desire on the backburner to do my own thing. It came to me so vividly, scolding Maya was like scolding myself. Our Heavenly Father setup this father daughter type scenario to mirror my relationship with Him.

In the moment, I understood the importance of Maya acting immediately but she didn’t, and her behavior spoke accordingly.  It’s the same thing with us and God at times. He instructs us as part of his grand design but we tell Him, “JUST NOW!!”. The Father says, Go and pray now but we continue watching television and by our actions we say, “Just Now”. The Father says, stop what you are doing and call that brother/sister in the Lord and give them a word of encouragement. But we continue surfing the internet and by our actions we tell the Lord, “Just Now!!!”

God wanted me to feel how He feels when we reject, ignore and abandon His commands; and I can tell you, it wasn’t a nice feeling at All! I got a taste of my own medicine and of course I didn’t like it, but nevertheless I had to embrace it the self-made reprimand.

This experience really got me to stand up and take note regarding how I treat my God. The one I say I love and care so much for is being disregarded. I wasn’t treating my God the way my lips were saying I was treating Him. In that moment, I had to repent and make the same behavioral changes I was telling my child. In other words, God used Maya and my own voice to allow me to reflect and look inwardly.

Dear friends, I encourage you to use my lesson as a learning tool to come into obedience to God’s voice (His Holy Word and Spirit). Now ask yourself, what type of Christian do you want to be? Do you want to be a “Just Now Christian”, or a “Right Now Christian!”. It’s obvious which one pleases God the most and brings the greatest blessing to our lives?

Prayer: Lord, I just want to say sorry for all the times I was stubborn and denied your voice when you called. I tried to live my life my own way and I got my own consequences as a result. Father, give me the strength to pull away from whatever I am doing to act immediately when you call. Nothing in my life should be prioritized above your desire/will for my life. Lord please give me a teachable spirit that I may please you in all aspects. For I must live to please my Lord!

I leave you with this scripture:

1 Samuel 15:22-25 (NIV) 22 But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”