Hurry to Obey God’s Commands

Yesterday we talked about what it means to “walk in God’s Spirit.” Sometimes God’s Spirit tells you to move slowly. Other times you should move quickly. Today, as we get ready to ring in a new year, we’re going to talk about two times when you should move quickly.

First, you should move quickly when God tells you to do something. The Bible is filled with instructions for life. The Bible calls them commands, and God wants us to obey them.

Parents often give their children instructions. If the child replies, “I’ll think about it,” the child is disobeying.

The same is true for God and us. When God tells us to do something, he expects us to obey quickly.

In Mark 1:17-18, Jesus says to two fishermen, “Come, follow me” (NIV). He was asking them to walk away from their careers. It was a big deal. Their response? “At once they left their nets and followed him.”

When God asks you to do something, you do it immediately.

Psalm 119:60 says, “Without delay, I hurry to obey your commands” (GNT). When it comes to obedience, hurry is a good thing.

A second time to move quickly is when you need to ask for or offer forgiveness. Holding on to guilt or resentment is like drinking poison. It can eat you alive. Jesus says it like this in Matthew 5:23-24: “If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God” (The Message).

Not even your worship of God is reason enough to delay forgiving or asking for forgiveness. If something isn’t right between you and another person, the time to make it right is now.

When God tells you to do something or when you need to be reconciled with someone, don’t delay—it’s the time to move quickly.