Latest / Beliefs, Ballots, And BullDawgs / Tuesday July 14, 2026
Transcript
- Greg: Hey, what's up, everybody, and welcome back to Beliefs, Ballots, and Bulldogs. It's Tuesday, July 14th, and I'm your host, Greg Miller. I'm glad you're here. Today I want to talk about something that ⁓ I think may sneak up on on a lot of us, and it's ⁓ it's not so much rebellion and and not not an intentional ⁓ disobedience of God and not a huge dramatic failure, but just a sense of delayed obedience that I think a lot of us struggle with. ⁓ I think a lot of people are not intentionally disobeying God because they hate Him or they they just choose to go in a different direction. I think a lot of us and and sometimes people may be disobeying God because they're they're waiting for life to get easier before they start obeying. They keep waiting on the perfect season, they keep waiting on things to calm down in their life, they keep waiting until the kids get a little bit older, until money's a little better, until work slows down, or until the schedule clears up, until they feel more confident. ⁓ or until they understand everything and then that's when they'll do something. They we can't we keep waiting until the timing feels right, ⁓ until we have more energy and and we we're less tired or until we're less afraid, waiting until all the conditions finally line up. Well, here's the problem. ⁓ life rarely is gonna settle down enough for obedience to God to feel easier to come naturally. There's always gonna be another bill, there's always gonna be another busy week at work, there's always gonna be another family issue, there's always gonna be another reason to wait, another uncertainty or another distraction, or or just another excuse you can come up with that will very likely sound very reasonable. And if we're if we're not careful, we can we can spend years calling it wisdom and trying to wait on the perfect opportunity when reality says it's just fear. We we call it timing, but it's it's really procrastination. It it we portray it as we're we're being careful and and trying to be discerning and and only do what's right, where really it's it's a lack of faith. It's a bit of unbelief that is causing us to not do things. ⁓ we can call it waiting on God, but if we're really honest, God's likely already waiting on us. ⁓ the scripture today is from Ecclesiastes chapter 11, verse 4. The scripture says, Whoever watches the wind will not plant, and whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. It's very short and and somewhat simplistic verse, but but it hits with a very powerful message, I believe. If if you stare at the wind long enough, you'll never plant. If you stare at the clouds long enough, you you'll never harvest. If you wait for perfect weather and perfect conditions, most likely your fields are going to stay empty forever. And some of us here, we ⁓ we have empty fields not because God hasn't given us the seeds, but because we keep waiting for perfect conditions to plan it or make a move. We're waiting, we're waiting on something else to lead us to become the husband we need to be, or waiting to become the wife we need to be. We're waiting to lead our family spiritually, waiting to get serious about our prayer life, waiting on something else to cause us to start reading the scripture more consistently, waiting to forgive that person, waiting to apologize, waiting to serve the world around us. We're waiting to start the thing that God's placed on our heart Or we're waiting to stop the habit that is slowly pulling us away from him. Whatever we're doing, we're waiting to have the hard conversations, waiting to be present with our children, waiting to make that change and waiting to obey him. And all the while we keep telling ourselves, I'll I'll do it, I'm gonna, I'm gonna do better, I'll do it when things calm down. But look at the world around us. What if what if things don't calm down? What if it gets harder? What if it gets worse? What if faithfulness isn't something that you find after life gets easy? What if faithfulness is something you practice while life is still very, very complicated? That's that's what I think we're being told here. That's that's the word for today is you know, stop waiting for the perfect season in order to be faithful. Be faithful of the season you're in right now. And and now let me be clear. There, this is not causing it's not saying to rush into things or to jump into things. There is such a thing as wisdom. There is such a thing as waiting on the Lord's timing. There is such a thing as being patient. And not every opportunity that comes in your direction will be from God. Not every open door is the right door. Not every idea needs to be acted on immediately. Sometimes God really does tell us to wait. But there's a difference between waiting on God and and hiding behind your own your own fears and delaying for that. But waiting on God produces trust. Hiding behind your own fears produces excuses. Waiting on God will strengthen your obedience. Hiding behind your fears will will avoid that obedience. Waiting on God says, Lord, I'm ready when you lead. Hiding behind your fears says, Lord, I will obey when it feels safe enough. And I think that's where a lot of us get stuck. We we want certainty before we act on the obedience. We want guarantees before we we enact for faith. We want God to show us the whole road before we're willing to take that first step. But most of the time, and if you've read the Bible, most of the time faith doesn't work that way. Faith is is often enough light for the next step, but not the whole staircase. And God's not always gonna show you the whole entire plan. That's why it's called faith. Sometimes He's just gonna show you the next act of obedience. Make that next call, make that conversation happen. Put the phone down, open your Bible, say you're sorry. Forgive that person. Serve somebody. Give. Start now. Stop whatever habit it is that you're trying to stop. Show up, tell the truth, lead in your household, do the right thing and do the next right thing that's in front of you. That's where faithfulness begins. It's not going to begin in the perfect season because there is no perfect season. It's not going to begin in ideal conditions because there are no ideal conditions. Not when everything feels easy. Faithfulness begins. Right now, with the next right step. Luke chapter 16, 10 tells us that one who is faithful with very little will also be faithful with very much. This this is huge for all of us. We we all want a big purpose in life, and yet we show neglect on the small, obedient things that God's asking us to do. We we want God to trust us with more, but we're not faithful with what He's already laid out in front of us. We want a calling. But we neglect our character. We want to be influential, but we neglect our integrity. We want to have a big platform to reach people, but then we neglect our private faith faithfulness to the people right around us in our own circle. We want God to open new doors, and yet we refuse to walk faithfully through the doors that He's already opened in our own homes. And this is this is where things get get a little personal. You know, maybe. Maybe the faithful step for you today isn't something dramatic. Maybe it's not launching into ministry or doing something like this. Maybe it's not a massive career change or or some huge public move. Maybe faithfulness tonight today just looks like being fully present with your family tonight. Maybe it looks like praying with your spouse. Maybe it looks like apologizing or praying with your child. Maybe it looks like reading scripture instead of scrolling through social media. Maybe it looks like just putting your phone down altogether. Maybe it looks like telling the truth when lying or avoiding a conversation would be easier. Maybe it looks like forgiving someone for something that you've just been replaying over and over in your mind. Maybe it looks like being honest about a habit that you've kept hidden. Maybe it looks like doing some small things that you know God's been asking you to do. That's faithfulness. And sometimes we avoid the small step because we're waiting for a big moment. And, you know. That's that's great, but sometimes the big moments are often built on those small steps of obedience. Nobody becomes faithful by accident. You become faithful one decision at a time, one prayer at a time, one apology at a time, one act of courage at a time, one moment of honesty at a time, and just one quiet yes to God at the right time. The enemy doesn't try to make you hate God. Sometimes he just has to convince you to wait until tomorrow to put it off and to not turn to God today. Tomorrow I'll pray. Tomorrow I'll lead. Tomorrow I'll change. Tomorrow I'll forgive. Tomorrow I'll start or tomorrow I'll stop. Tomorrow I'll get serious. Tomorrow I'll be present. Tomorrow I will obey and be faithful. And then tomorrow becomes next week. Next week becomes next month. Next month becomes next year. And suddenly you look around and you realize that you've you've built a life around delayed obedience. And that's a dangerous place for any of us to be. Delate obedience can can sound very responsible when you're when you're confusing wisdom with fear. When when you're saying that fear is actually wisdom. ⁓ it can sound mature, like you're trying to be patient and be wise. It can sound practical. It can sound like you're just making sure you you've got everything planned out. It can sound like you're being patient and wise, but underneath it is just fear, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of change, fear of losing control. Fear of maybe just being a little bit uncomfortable, fear of what the people you care about might think, or fear that God won't come through like you need Him to. Fear is a terrible master, and it'll always give you a reason to wait. But faith will invite you to take that very next step. And that's all it is, just that very next step. So today the questions are really pretty simple. You know, what have you been postponing that God has already pointed out to you clearly? Not not something you're confused about or something you're still unsure about. What what's something you you genuinely believe God has already made clear to you? Something ⁓ a person you already know you need to forgive, ⁓ something you already know you need to apologize for, something a habit or something that you've been you've been partaking in and you know you need to stop. ⁓ some ⁓ leading your home in a way that you know God has called you to lead your home. You you already know you need to get back in the scripture. You already know you need to tell the truth. You already know you need to spend time with your family. You already know you need to speak to people with kindness and love. You already know you need to serve. What are you waiting on? Sometimes we keep asking God for direction just because we don't like the direction He's already given us. And that's harsh, but it's but it's the truth. We w we want a new word when we've yet to even obey the last word from him. We constantly, you know, clamor for it and desire clarity about the future, but we're refusing to be obedient even in the present. You know, we want God to show us the next 10 steps before we're willing to show him that we'll take the next one. Being faithful is not built by imagining what you might do someday. Being faithful is built by obeying God today. Right here, right now, in the season you're in, with the resources you have, with the time you have, with the family you have, with the job you have, with the influence you have, with every opportunity you have in front of you. You may not have everything you want, but you've got everything you need to be faithful today. You may not be where you had hoped you'd be, but you can still be faithful today. You may not feel super confident about it, but you can still be faithful today. You may not know how it all works out in the end, but you can still be faithful today. You may not have perfect conditions and you likely never will, but you can still be faithful today. That's what Ecclesiastes is teaching us here. If if you keep staring at the wind, you'll never sow your seeds. If you keep studying the clouds, you'll never reap your harvest. At some point you have to plant. At some point you have to make a move. At some point you have to stop using uncertainty as an excuse for inactivity. The field does not become fruitful because you think about planting. It becomes fruitful because a seed went into the ground. And some of us have been thinking about that next thing and thinking about that obedience God is calling us to for a long time. We've been planning obedience, talking about obedience, feeling convicted about obedience, listening to sermons about obedience and agreeing with every word of it. But that's not actually obeying. That's not being obedient. That's thinking about. Today's a good day to plant. Not everything, not the whole field. Just plant something. Just take one faithful step, have one honest conversation, one act of serious repentance, one moment of true courage, one decision to just do what God calls you to do, do what is right. And don't underestimate that. Small obedience matters, small acts of faithfulness matter, and small beginnings can start to the huge projects. We we live in a culture that is absolutely obsessed with. Big moments, big platforms, big announcements, big changes, big transformations. But the kingdom of God often works like a seed. Small, quiet, buried, unimpressive at first, but it's alive. Jesus compared the kingdom to a mustard seed. Small beginning, massive growth. And maybe that's what God asked you to do right now. Maybe it maybe it feels like something really small He's asking you to do. Do it. Do it anyway. Maybe nobody will clap for you or applaud. Maybe, maybe nobody will even notice. Do it anyway. Maybe, maybe it won't change everything right away. Do it anyway. Maybe it'll even feel a little awkward and uncomfortable. Do it anyway. Maybe you should have done it a long time ago. Do it now. That's grace. God gives us today to do what he calls us to do today. Not so we can keep postponing the obedience, but so we can respond to him. And here's the other thing. Faithfulness in this season will prepare you for the next season. A lot of people say it is, and it's an easy thing to get caught up in. You know, when I get there, when I get to that level, I'll be faithful. When I get the promotion, I'll be a good leader. When I have more money, I'll be generous. When I have more time, I'll serve the church. When the kids are older, I'll be more present. When life gets easier, I'll pray more. When I feel stronger, I'll obey better. Faithfulness doesn't suddenly appear just because your circumstances improve. Faithfulness is formed in ordinary everyday days. If you're not generous with a little, more money is not going to automatically make you generous. If you're not prayerful in your busy season, an easy season is not going to automatically make you more prayerful. If you're not present with your family now, a clearer calendar may not automatically fix your priorities. If you're not honest in the small things, Bigger responsibility is only going to expose that dishonestly. One who is faithful in little is faithful in much. So don't despise the little things. Don't despise the ordinary season. Don't despise the hidden obedience. Don't despise the faults of the small, faithful step that nobody sees. God sees it and God will use it for you. The faithful parent changing the atmosphere of a home matters. The honest worker just doing the right thing when nobody's watching matters. The husband praying for his family matters, the wife choosing to be patient matters, a teenager choosing integrity matters, a leader choosing to be humble matters. The believer opening scripture before opening social media absolutely matters. The apology matters, forgiveness matters, just that small yes matters. Faithfulness compounds, obedience grows, and the seeds will become a harvest, but only if they're planted. So today, stop waiting for the perfect season. Stop telling yourself you'll obey when everything calms down. Stop staring at the clouds. Stop checking the wind. Stop making excuses. Stop postponing what God has already made abundantly clear. You do not need a perfect season to take a faithful step. You just need to trust God with the step in front of you. That's the challenge. Ask yourself what's the next faithful thing? Not a big thing, not an impressive thing. Not a perfect thing, not even a dramatic thing. Just the next faithful thing. What's the next faithful thing in your marriage? What's the next faithful thing with your kids or at work or in in your relationship with God? What's the next faithful thing with your health? What's what about that that apology? What's the next faithful thing about that habit you've been working on? What's the next faithful thing with that dream, that calling, that conviction, or that responsibility? Find that thing and then do it today. And if fear tells you to wait for perfect conditions, remember this verse in Ecclesiastes. He who observes the wind will not sow. He who regards the clouds will not reap. If you wait for the wind to be perfect, your field will stay empty. So plant something. Plant a prayer. Plant repentance. Plant forgiveness. Plant honesty. Plant discipline, presence, courage, obedience, and then trust God with the harvest. You may not be in the season you wanted. But you're in the season where God can use you. And you may not have the perfect conditions that you'd hoped for, but you have every opportunity to be faithful today. You may not see the whole road, but you can take the next step. And then maybe your life, maybe the life you're waiting to live is waiting on the obedience from you that you keep postponing. So stop waiting. Start planning. Be faithful with what's right in front of you because God's not asking you to control the weather. He's just asking you to sow the seed. As always, get your Bibles, say your prayers, love one another, and tell the truth. God bless.