You Might Miss Out On A Blessing If You Do This

Upon walking into the optometrist’s office, I noticed them in the lobby. A mom and three kids, tattered and dirty clothes, tousled hair, flimsy flip flops on a chilly day. My daughter’s name was called, and Kaitlyn and I walked over to the counter, while my other two kids took a seat.

Minutes later, Morgan came over to tell me she had overheard a conversation among the mom and her small kids talking about getting the little boy’s broken glasses repaired.  The repair was going to cost $20, apparently more than they had expected.

They quietly began frantically whispering about lunch, and how they wouldn’t be able to afford to eat if they paid for the repair fee – yet the little boy needed his glasses to see. The mom then whispered to the kids that they would just buy a hamburger or a salad from Wendy’s and they could all split it – there were four of them.

This touched Morgans heart, and she wanted us to help this precious family, and I immediately agreed. God impressed upon her heart and mine that we should pay for this lady’s bill. I felt God nudge me to go offer to pay her bill right that moment, but I told Morgan it would be easier if I just paid it at the same time I paid our bill, after all, we were only going to be a few more minutes.

The selection process of Kaitlyn’s frames took a little longer than expected, and when I finally did get back to the front desk to check out, that family was gone and my heart sunk. God had divinely ordained that our paths would cross, so that He could use us to bless this family in need, but apparently I thought my timing was better than His.

I waited. I procrastinated, even with good intentions of doing it later. I didn’t move when God pricked my heart. Gods request for me to give this family $20 was a simple request. A request that would not be a big sacrifice for me, and did not really require any extra time or effort. God just asked that I do it in His timing, and instead, I chose to do it in mine.

As a result, I missed the opportunity to bless someone, help a family in need. A family which needed a blessing, did not receive it, all because I thought my obedience to God’s nudging could wait. I’m sure God used someone else to bless that family on that day if that was His will, unfortunately I just missed the blessing of being a part of it.

I was reminded of this verse in 1 John 5:3 which says “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,”.  This was not a burdensome request by God, just one that required a lack of procrastination.  My love for God, and desire to be His hands and feet, should have taken precedence over my personal agenda.

This experience taught me a great lesson – that not only can procrastinating about faith matters cause me to miss a blessing, but it can cause others to miss a blessing as well.

In today’s Proverbs 31 Devotion called “What if I Fall?”, I shared about another time I procrastinated and missed out on a blessing, and again, served as yet another example of how procrastinating always causes us to miss out on God’s best for our lives. The devotion talks about a ziplining experience I could have enjoyed, but procrastinated to the point of talking myself out of it completely. How many times must I let procrastination keep me from experiencing something beautiful? Have mercy.

Yet, I know I’m not alone. So many of us let our fears feel stronger than our faith, and procrastination causes us to miss a blessing. Sometimes the blessing is to help others, but sometimes the blessing is for us. Let’s commit to always remember that immediate obedience to God’s call will always result in blessing in more ways than we could ever imagine.

YLSC_study_buttonAlso in today’s Proverbs 31 Devotion, I announced for the first time about my FREE ONLINE BIBLE STUDY OF YOUR LIFE STILL COUNTS and I am SOOOO excited about it! My desire is to help women gain confidence in who they are in Christ, so that they can step out of their comfort zones and obey whatever it is God lays on their hearts. It’s going to so much fun, and hopefully will be a study that changes lives as God speaks healing and purpose into the hearts of all those participating.

To get all the information about the Your Life Still Counts Online Bible Study- CLICK HERE!  I so hope you’ll prayerfully consider participating in this study – and don’t procrastinate about it! Because if you do, you just might miss a blessing God has in store for you!

If you are already a blog subscriber, then you’re all set!

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(Watch this super short video for a little glimpse into the day I refused to climb the tree and do the zipline that I talked about in my P31 devotion – and you’ll hear Kaitlyn calling me out on my procrastination. Maybe one day, I’ll try again. Smiles)

**blog subscribers, if you cannot see the video below, please click here**

7 Comments

  1. Ro on Friday, January 23, 2015 at 7:30 am

    This post really hit home. I often feel the Holy Spirit leading me to speak to people during my day, overthink it and miss opportunities to be a blessing. The agony & deep sense of regret that follows, however, doesn’t seem to be enough to get me on track for the next opportunity with which I’m presented. Procastination and the fear of how I’ll be perceived are definitely at play. Not until reading today’s post did I make the connection with other areas of life where I’ve allowed fear to get the best of me. Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to the bible study.



  2. alli on Friday, January 23, 2015 at 8:33 am

    wow im feeling mighty sorru, I missed out on a HUGE blessing, what if when God called u He has something extraordinary in mind. He actually showed me what my disobedience cost and He had to use somebody else. I can tell u it doesnt feel good eating humble pie alone. thanks for this…never underestimate anybody. when those opportunities cross your path its best to just obey. im suffering now bc I failed to move when God said move. I regret it too.



  3. alli on Friday, January 23, 2015 at 8:37 am

    I didnt have this fear I used to move when God said but a church hurt caused me to really stop stepping out in faith, when people who were supposed to catch me dropped me I resolved not to trust, so when God called I ignored Him and said ‘thats ok ill pass” why its SO important to trust Him, it was anothers lack of belief that actually caused mine. why in the promised land I believe God hates and evil report



  4. Paige E on Friday, January 23, 2015 at 8:54 am

    Oh Traci. Thank you so much for sharing a tough tough lesson. Not easy to throw these kinds of missed opportunities up on the blog. I had a very similar lesson with a young mom of two at Chick Fil-A one evening. God prompted me to help her out by throwing her trash away while she wrangled her kids into coats and tried to get them to leave the play area. But I hesitated, wondering if she would think I thought she couldn’t handle her kids. And I missed a blessing in that. I still think about it and its been almost a year. The important thing is for us to learn from this and not worry ever again about the outcome. Only the obedience. Thanks again for sharing your heart this morning. May God bless it.



  5. Cindy on Friday, January 23, 2015 at 12:06 pm

    I certainly have had my share of missed “God Moments” in my life but thought I’d share the results of the rare obedience day I just encountered. Yesterday God laid someone on my heart, so I said a short prayer for them then proceeded to send them a message asking how they were doing and that I was thinking of them and praying for them. I looked at my phone to realize it was eight in the morning and thought it may be to early to send. I waited almost an hour and sent the text through. Got a text back immediately saying at the very moment my text beeped on their phone, their dog of seventeen years passed away, and how much she needed to know someone was thinking of them. When I shared the original timeline, we were both taken back because she said at exactly eight she was at the vet deciding what to do and was very upset. I just feel like most times in life we don’t see the unfolding of Gods calling to be obedient when he lays someone or something on our heart to do, , but when He gives a glimpse of his perfect timing you kind of stand there in “Awe” – like “Wow, I actually did here His voice, I listened and He showed me the fruits of obedience.” Definitely makes you want to turn up the volume on your hearts hearing aide.



    • alli on Friday, January 23, 2015 at 8:52 pm

      this brings tears I am about to shake, its soooo important to do what He asks you never know what God has in mind.



  6. Sarah Travis on Friday, January 23, 2015 at 1:48 pm

    Thank you for the encouragement Tracie. I feel God nudging me a little at a time to something new and as an opportunity lies open before me I am prayerfully considering how to respond. I don’t want to miss what God is calling me to due to fear or a lack of faith…but I’m scared! Don’t let me miss it Lord!



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Tracie Miles is a bestselling author and the Director of COMPEL Training with Proverbs 31 Ministries.  She helps women grow stronger in their faith, pursue the life of purpose God designed them for and live a life of peace, joy and happiness despite their circumstances.

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