Doing What You Ought

My alarm went off at 7:30 this morning and the last thing I wanted to do was roll out of bed and get ready to go to Bible Study. Yes, there would be breakfast tacos, but since I didn’t go to sleep until after 1 AM the night before, all I wanted to do was sleep in. After all, it’s summer, and besides, I’m not working this week so I could have slept in and everybody would have understood; it would have been totally ok.

But just as I had myself convinced to hit snooze, the thought of it sounded so wrong. I sat bolt upright as I realized just because I’m not required to do something good, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t. I felt really convicted in that moment and asked God for wisdom for whenever I fall back into this lazy habit in the future.

Turns out, I had a great time at the Bible Study. The message was from Psalm 77, and we discussed the topic of prayer on a deep, rich level, and afterwards, my friends and I walked to the coffee shop down the street. It was an encouraging, soul-enriching time of fellowship with fellow believers, and I couldn’t believe I would have missed it if I had slept only a little longer! I realized I needed to be there this morning, and I am so thankful that God helped me put aside momentary comfort to focus on time with Him and like-minded people who want to learn about Him together.

Everybody has days like this, days when you know what you should be doing, but aren’t obligated or required to take the initiative to get up and do it. Everybody wants to put themselves first; it’s human nature. But next time you find something you can do for God, better yet, that you should do for God, but don’t feel like it, my advice to you would be to do it anyway! You’ll never know what blessings He has in store for you if you listen to His call to do the right thing – it could be as simple as going to church after a late night or taking a few minutes out of your busy day to meditate on His Word or pray. Things like this can seem inconvenient, maybe even unimportant, but once you’ve done it, you’ll be so thankful you did.

Luke 16:10 says, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”

Consider this verse as a calling to make a habit of doing what you ought, even though it may seem like it doesn’t matter. I encourage you to faithfully stop pursuing your own comfort over your commitments or time with God, as I work to do the same.

But we won’t be alone in this struggle, for God is willing and able to help us overcome our own fleshly desires and set our minds and actions on things that are above, prioritizing Kingdom Work and time with Him over anything else.