There’s an old saying, “pay me now or pay me later” that I see applies to many people today. Of course, when it comes to money, most would rather pay later than sooner, so they can hold onto their money a bit longer. That mentality also moves over into serving God.


We would rather hold out obeying God until the last possible moment so we can go on doing our own will as long as possible. God knows what’s best for us in every situation, far better than we do, and it’s written in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” And yet, we insist on doing things OUR way, until our way fails, THEN we call upon the LORD to fix what we messed up. And all the time we could have had things a lot better. But we are a stiffnecked people. I’m sure the LORD shakes His head and says, When will they ever learn?

Yes, and I wonder that, too. I often receive prayer requests asking for me to agree in prayer that they receive this or that, or that God moves a certain person to do this or that for them, because after all, the Bible tells us in Matthew 18:19, “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”  And all the time, it would be so much better for the person to go straight to God and ask what HIS will is for them. But they don’t because they’re basically afraid what God wants them to do and what THEY want to do is not the same. So they call around until they find someone who will agree with them that what they want to do is right.

Once a lady asked me to pray in agreement that such-and-such a person would be her husband, and she knows I believe in the power of agreement. Well, that’s fine, except I knew for a fact that I heard in my spirit “NO, he isn’t the right one.” Needless to say, I wouldn’t agree with her and she didn’t like it. And this has happened several times. Is it possible that God has the perfect mate for her if she will just let Him work things out in His timing? Well, she jumped the gun and got involved with another man, and they married, and they are already kaput. As the old saying goes, “Pay me now, or pay me later.”

It’s only human nature not to want to wait for what you want, you want it RIGHT NOW! Maybe we get that from God, because when God wants something, He speaks it and it happens immediately. But we are not God, and often we try to bring things to be that are either not God’s will at all, or we try to do it out of His timing. How much heartache we bring upon ourselves for trying to do God’s job for Him. Rather we should seek Him in our everyday decisions. I once had a lady tell me that she involves God in EVERY decision she makes, even down to what clothes she wears to work each day. Well, that might sound extreme, but I’m sure she has great peace in her life because she seeks God’s will above her own. And in today’s time, THAT is a rare thing indeed.

The Holy Spirit is given to us to be our guide and helper. Instead of speeding 80 mph in a 50 mph zone and asking God to help you not get a ticket on your way to work, why not ask Him to help you start being more responsible in the use of your time. God can bless that. When we come into agreement with God, He can open doors for us that we never dreamed possible. After all, He is for us, and not against us, but He could use some cooperation from us all, myself included.

“Pay me now, or pay me later” can work FOR us or AGAINST us. We can get God more involved with our everyday activities and enjoy more of His blessings, or we can be stiffnecked and stubborn and continue seek our own plan above His, and miss out on so many good things from God. Life isn’t without troubles, and we won’t just slide through life unopposed by the devil or by other people. If we “pay now” by seeking God’s will be done in our life, and letting God work out the details, He will make sure things work out right. But when we try to do things OUR way, we end up missing the help we could have from God, and pay for it later.

Our lives are full of choices every day. Choose God’s will above your own, and you’ll never make another bad choice again. Ask the LORD what He wants you to do. He won’t make it hard for you to know the answer, indeed, He WANTS you to know! He will make His will clear to you, all you have to do is desire to know His will, and listen. It’s amazing to me how His “still, small voice” is heard by every cell of my body when I ask Him what He wants me to do. Now, I said you have to LISTEN for His voice, because the devil shouts, trying to make you hear him instead of God. But that’s another story for another time…..