Your reaction time matters - All The Word for Today Daily Devotionals for 2026

Isaiah 6:8 NKJV

Do you remember the ten spies who doubted God's ability to deliver on His promise and dissuaded the Israelites from entering the Promised Land? Their doubt was so offensive to God - He had already revealed His power to them through the exodus from Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea - that God executed judgment on the spot. The very next day, the Israelites did an about-face. They changed their minds, but it was too little, too late. One day's delay cost them forty years! They missed out on the Promised Land because their reaction time was too slow.

Now that doesn't mean you should live in fear of missing out. After all, God is the God of second chances (see Jonah 3:1). But please understand this: inaction is an action, and indecision is a decision. When you're dealing with God, your response time is all important. Paul's ministry began when he had a life-changing encounter with Christ on the Damascus road. Immediately he fell to his knees and cried: "Lord, what do You want me to do?" (Acts 9:6 NKJV).

In the book of Isaiah, when heaven opened and God said, "'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" immediately the prophet Isaiah said, "'Here am I! Send me.' And He said, 'Go, and tell this people'" (Isaiah 6:8-9 NKJV).

You don't want to get ahead of God, and you don't want to lag behind Him. What you want to do is seize the opportunities He gives you as quickly, as decisively, and as boldly as you possibly can. Your reaction time matters.

Soul food: 2 Chr 32-34; Mark 7:14-23; Ps 119:105-112; Pro 21:28-31