"Immediately"

        "And immediately they left their nets and followed Him." (Mark 1:18)
         What a simple, ordinary, but powerful word: "immediately." Just in the first chapter alone of the Gospel of Mark, I counted it's use nine times.  Immediately the heavens opened and a dove appeared after Jesus' baptism (v.10).  Immediately the Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness (v.12).  Immediately, when Jesus called Simon and Andrew to follow Him, they left their nets right then and there and followed Him.  Immediately Jesus called James and his brother John when He saw them mending their nets in their boat.  And on and on.
         In a world that seems perpetually in a mad rush, this little word could crush us, don't you think?  Hurry, get it all done...and now!  Multitask.  Run, don't walk.  Triple your productivity and accomplish more in less time...all so you can get more and more done in less and less time.  
         Go, go, go...till you collapse.  Whew.
         It's been said that all other religions say "Do, do, do."  Only Christianity--in the person of Jesus Christ--says "Done."  It is finished.  He took our place, died for our sins, and rose to new life that we might live in His resurrection life.  Oh thank You, Father!  
         Yes, we do all that we can do.  We do all that He calls us to do.  But we do it in and through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Then we leave what we cannot do to Him.  We work by His power, but we rest in His plan.  The obedience is up to us...but the results are up to Him.  And we can rest in that because we trust and know that He is totally sovereign.  He is completely good.  He is infinitely loving.  He is always full of grace and mercy.  And He is perfect in His wisdom and ways.          
          But there's a caveat to this word, "immediately."  When it comes to obeying the Lord, immediately is always best.  Wonder how many times I repeated to my children: "Delayed obedience is disobedience."  Well guess what?  It applies not only to children quickly obeying their parents but even more so to our immediate and ready obedience to God!  (Not that I do this all the time...or most of the time...or...oh mercy.)
          The tasks God puts on our plate don't get easier when we procrastinate, do they?  Especially when it comes to the stuff we really don't want to tackle or the duties that seem overwhelming to us, we're so prone to delay or distraction or denial.  Well, at least I am.
          These words from Alexander Maclaren prove mighty convicting on this point: "No unwelcome tasks become any less unwelcome by putting them off till tomorrow.  It is only when they are behind us and done, that we begin to find that there is sweetness to be tasted afterwards, and that the remembrance of unwelcome duties unhesitatingly done is welcome and pleasant.  Accomplished, they are full of blessing, and there is a smile on their faces as they leave us.  Undone, they stand threatening and disturbing our tranquility, and hindering our communion with God.  If there be lying before you any bit of work from which you shrink, go straight up to it, and do it at once.  The only way to get rid of it is to do it."
           I don't know what unwelcome or difficult tasks God has put on your plate, but maybe we can all learn from the book of Mark and emulate the example of the disciples. Let's try doing it now, as in immediately, if at all possible.  Help us, Father!  Teach us to do what You've called us to do and to do it when You tell us to do it...and then enable us to rest and rejoice in You.
          To God be the glory.