After what I posted on Monday and what I’m feeling in my heart these days, I thought this would be a timely and appropriate guest post. Take heed:
Is your life insanely busy? Are you overwhelmed with everything going on in your life and want to change it? Do you want get rid of your stress and worries, create a sense of balance, and restore some margin too your insanely busy life? Do you want to be more productive?
The Productivity Myth
The fact is that becoming more productive will only solve some of these issues. This is because no matter how productive you become, there will always be more to accomplish than you have time available. The only way to get control of your time and your life is to stop doing some of the things that you are currently doing, and focus on the things that will make the most difference in your life.
The good news is that there is a solution.
Get Your Priorities Straight
You are overwhelmed because you are doing too much. Your schedule is too busy, your life is not balanced, and you don’t have any margin in your life.
How do you know when you’re doing too much in your life? How do you know when you’re out of God’s will? How do you know if all the things you’re doing are what God expects you to do or you just put those expectations on yourself?
The answer is simple: You’re overwhelmed. It is not God’s will for you to be overwhelmed. God never intended for you to go around carrying an overwhelming load.
In Matthew 11:28-30 (TEV), Jesus said: “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying your heavy loads and I will give you…” … more to do? Is that what it says? “I’ll give you more projects to complete. I’ll put more appointments on your schedule.” No, He says, “I’ll give you rest.” The yoke I will give you is easy and the load I will put on you is light.’
What’s got you burdened? Why are you carrying more than He has asked you to carry? Why are you burdened with unrealistic expectations? Are you trying to prove that you matter?
You don’t have to prove you matter to God. You matter to God because He created you, not because of anything you can do. Because you matter to Him, He wants to remove your burden. He wants to help you to focus your life on what really matters.
What Really Matters In Life
If you are a Christian man, God has given you two assignments that only you can do. That’s it! Two assignments that only you can do. The rest of the stuff that you are focused on can be accomplished by someone else. Anybody else!
Do you want to know what these two assignments are?
First, you are to be the best husband that you can be. Second, you are to be the best father that you can be. That’s it! You are called to be a husband first, and a father second. Nobody else can be a husband to your wife or a father to your children.
If you are a Christian woman, you are called to be the best wife and mother that you can be. That’s it!
Everything else that is on your to-do list is not as important as your spouse and your children, and anything else can be done by someone else.
Seek God’s Help
While focusing on these two assignments might sound simple, the truth is that it is not really that simple to do. The only way to successfully accomplish these assignments is with God’s help. Fortunately, the Bible is full of God’s promises to help us accomplish any task that He gives us.
I think that these three promises will help us get control of our life and focus on what matters most:
Seek Him First – Matthew 6:33-34 says, “But seek (aim at and strive after) first ofall His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. If we seek God and His way of managing our time and our life, He will meet our needs for today, and today is all that really matters.
Ask for His Help – Jesus says, “Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.” (John 16:24 NLT) Why does God want you to ask? So he can give you what you need. He not only wants to meet your needs, but wants to fill you with his joy. All that you have to do is ask using His name.
He Will Meet Your Needs – Philippians 4:19 (NIV) tells us that “… God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in
Christ Jesus.” It doesn’t say, “He might meet your needs,” it says, “He will meet all your needs.” It doesn’t say, “I’ll meet some of your needs.” It says all. He never promises to give you everything that you want, but He will give you everything that you need.
God created you to make a difference in the world. He calls you to serve your spouse and children before He calls you serve others. He calls you to be the leader of your family before He calls you to lead others.
God has promised to meet all of your needs if you seek Him first, and ask for His help. Reduce your overwhelm by giving Him your burdens, asking for His help, and putting God and your family before all of the other stuff in your life. Let Him help you create a sense of balance, and add some margin too your insanely busy life.
Is there anything holding you back from accepting God’s call to serve Him by putting your spouse and children first?
