Dragging your feet

“We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” Hebrews 6:12

Dragging your feet means to hesitate to do something which needs to be done by procrastinating or to intentionally move very slow. This comes from the actual act of someone with an injured foot who has to shuffle along slowly.

The last time I was at the beach, I noticed this bird who was lame in one foot. He persevered as if nothing was wrong but he couldn't put any weight on the leg and just had to drag it through the sand. I immediately thought of this idiom and how we can be guilty of dragging our feet, especially when we don't want to do something or we are indecisive.

I’ve got a girlfriend who I love but she has the hardest time making up her mind when shopping. She finds an item, then hesitates to make the decision on whether to buy it or not. We usually leave the store then have to circle back for her to try it on one more time before committing to the purchase. It’s so frustrating to be on the timetable of someone else.

I think we do this with God also. Sometimes He clearly calls us to act and we either procrastinate until it’s too late and the opportunity no longer exists or we just push it out of our minds all together and don’t give it a second thought. I think God wants us to be deliberate and decisive when He calls us to engage. We know in our hearts what He’s asking but we have a tendency to disregard the call.

There are several reasons we do this. One is fear. The fear of failure or rejection. I know when I’m asked to do something new, I get uncomfortable because this makes me vulnerable. We all have this desire to be liked and want to be accepted.

Another reason is we have control issues. It’s difficult for God to be the Lord of our lives when we fail to allow Him to be in the driver’s seat. We don’t have to drag our feet if we trust Hm with our whole heart and surrender. When we’re doing what the Lord has asked us to do, He has cleared the path and paved the way for us to take the steps we should.