Most of us have something we know we need to do. Maybe you need to apologize for something you said. Maybe there’s a habit you know has no place in your life. Maybe someone needs your forgiveness, or you know there’s a step of obedience you’ve been avoiding. You’re not confused about what’s right. You just keep putting it off.
That’s easy to justify because putting it off can feel different from disobedience. You haven’t said no to God. You intend to obey. You just plan to do it later. But intending to obey later doesn’t make present disobedience harmless.
James writes, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17, ESV). That verse comes at the end of a warning about people confidently planning their future without acknowledging their dependence on God. They say they’ll go to a certain city, conduct business, and make money. James reminds them that they don’t even know what tomorrow will bring. Their lives are “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14).
We often treat tomorrow as though it belongs to us. We assume there’ll be another opportunity to obey, another conversation, another chance to change direction. But we haven’t been given tomorrow. We have today.
That doesn’t mean every decision has to be made immediately. Some things require prayer, counsel, and patience. But we shouldn’t use the language of wisdom to delay what God has already made clear. If you know you lied and need to confess it, you don’t need more guidance about whether honesty is God’s will. Sometimes we keep praying for guidance because guidance feels easier than obedience.
Jesus makes the connection between love and obedience unmistakable: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Christian obedience isn’t an attempt to earn God’s love. We’re saved by grace through faith, not by our works. But grace doesn’t make obedience optional. Paul says that we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10). The Christ who saves us is also our Lord.
That changes the question. Instead of asking, “How long can I put this off?” we begin asking, “What does faithfulness to Christ require of me today?”
Maybe it means making the phone call you’ve been avoiding or telling someone, “I was wrong,” without immediately explaining what they did wrong too. Maybe it means deleting an app, blocking a website, or changing a routine that repeatedly leads you into temptation. Maybe it means opening your Bible and praying today instead of waiting until life gets less busy.
The step may be uncomfortable. It may cost you pride, convenience, money, time, or someone else’s approval. Following Christ means obeying Him even when obedience costs you something.
There’s also grace if you realize you’ve already delayed too long. Christ has borne the guilt of His people at the cross. Confess your sin, receive His forgiveness, and begin again from where you are now. Peter knew what it was to fail Christ badly. His denial of Jesus couldn’t be undone. Yet after His resurrection, Jesus restored Peter and called him again: “Follow me” (John 21:19).
That is still Christ’s call to His people. Not “go back and fix yesterday.” Not “prove that you deserve another chance.” Simply, “Follow me.”
You can’t be faithful yesterday. You can’t guarantee that you’ll be faithful tomorrow. But by Christ’s grace, you can be faithful today. If something came to mind while you were reading this, don’t automatically push it aside. Ask whether you really need more wisdom—or whether you already know what faithfulness requires.
You don’t obey to earn Christ’s love. You obey because He has loved you, saved you, forgiven you, and called you to follow Him. If you know what faithfulness to Christ requires, take the next faithful step.
Grace and peace,
Mike
Live for what lasts. Build your life on Christ.
Worth The Cost is a discipleship series from Built On Christ | Mike Sorrell Ministries about following Jesus faithfully, whatever the cost.
