We name the obvious ones. Lust. Pride. Anger. Greed. We know how to spot them, confess them, and bring them into the light.
But there is a quieter one, and I suspect it has more of us than all the others put together. It’s delay.
Delay doesn’t feel like rebellion. That’s what makes it so effective. We don’t tell God no. We tell him not yet. We say we need more clarity, more time, more certainty that this is really him. It sounds like wisdom. Sometimes it even sounds like humility. But underneath, it is usually something simpler: we want to stay in charge.
Psalm 119:60 gives us a very different picture. “I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands.” There’s no weighing up. No drawn-out process. Just trust, expressed as movement.
I find David’s story sobering here. He was a warrior, a worshipper, a king. And yet when it came to obedience, he often paused when he should have moved, and covered up when he should have confessed. Those pauses were not small. They cost him, and they cost the people around him.
Here’s what I’ve noticed in my own life: the longer I wait, the more weight I carry. Delay is not neutral. Every hesitation plants a seed, and seeds grow roots. Given long enough, delay quietly becomes disobedience.
But the good news is real. God is patient. His grace doesn’t run out when we stall. He doesn’t walk away when we hesitate. His voice still calls. His Spirit still nudges.
So what would it look like to say yes now, rather than later? Perhaps a message you’ve been meaning to send. A step you’ve been afraid to take. A decision you’ve delayed because the cost feels too high.
And note this: to hurry is not to rush. It is readiness. It is a heart that says, God, I trust you more than I trust myself.
Watch today’s five-minute devotional here:
What simple act of obedience could you choose today instead of delay? Hit reply and tell me. I read every one.