'Yeh but, no but.....'

At times I have to confess to being a bit of a procrastinator. I could make those calls now, but I'll wait until I've worked out what to say. I could do

those letters now, but there's still time. I could do some cleaning today, but there's always tomorrow. That last one tells me why putting off stuff is not a good idea as 'there is always tomorrow' is not necessarily true. Don't they say that 'procrastination is the thief of time'? That little word 'but' is a dangerous one, used for putting things off, making excuses or really saying no in another way.

A while back I remember saying that I don't think I've ever said 'but' to God. It made me thing really hard, wondering if that really was true. There have been times when I could have maybe:

Ok, I'll become a Christian, but I don't want to be like the rest of them!

Ok, I'll go anywhere, but maybe not Africa - God got the last laugh on that one 30 years later!

Ok, I'll go and live and work overseas, but after everything's sorted at home.

And I could go on. 

It would be so easy to try to go God's way on our terms - with the 'buts' taking us on little, seemingly more convenient detours. 

I want my 'yes' to God to be YES. The minute I say 'yes, but' it is no longer 'yes' but 'no'. And I'm sure we've all heard the old thing about you can't have 'no' and God in the one phrase. 'No God' simply can't be said.

'Yes, but' is really saying 'If we can do it my way at my time, when it suits me'. It's making excuses - we call them reasons! It's saying that I still want control. And that's precisely why we can't say 'but' or 'no' to God. He is in control and saying our yes to him is acknowledging that and going for it with him.

I just know that if I'd said 'but' to God in the past, including those above, I would have missed out on so much. I quoted above the old saying about procrastination being the thief of time - I heard another version recently which said that procrastination is the thief of dreams. So I hope I do always have the grace to stifle the 'buts' and say my YES to God each and every time he calls. 

Now, does this mean the housework will be done today? - in a word - NO! 

And if tomorrow doesn't come, too bad!