If you’re like most, then you’re probably living in the fast lane and looking for an exit!
In my conference last weekend, we talked about having too many duties and responsibilities in life. The sad thing was none of them are bad. They are all good things that keep us busy like going to work, caring for and car-pooling the kids, doing the laundry, serving at church, managing the home, cheering for our kids as they play sports, dance, and music. The list goes on. While these are all good things, nevertheless they are robbing of us our time, energy, rest, and most importantly our playtime. Remember that? The truth is its okay to have some “me” time.
I find more often than not I’m living in the fast lane because I mismanage my priorities. I try to do it all. Somewhere along the way, I adopted the Little Engine’s motto for my life. Do you remember that childhood story? Whenever the Little Engine faced a challenge, he’d say… “I think I can, I think I can.” The same is true for me. Instead of examining closely what I can and cannot do, I took on the Engines motto and responded with, “I think I can. I think I can” to everything and everyone who came down my path.
As a believer, our lives don’t belong to ourselves. They belong to God. We shouldn’t make our own list of priorities where we crave out a slot for God. Instead, we should go to God first and allow Him to set our priorities. Only then will life make sense. Only then will we find true balance. You see, God didn’t call us to be everywhere or to do everything. No, He called us to himself. It’s out of our relationship with God that we find our purpose in life. When we allow Him to give us our marching orders, well then, all the extra activities seem to fall away leaving room for what’s really important.
I encourage you to read Mark chapter 1 verses 21-35. It’s about a day in the life of Jesus. You’ll find in this story that His day wasn’t much different than ours. Christ got up each morning and went work teaching. Throughout his day, he encountered distractions much like we do. Christ knew, by spending time with God, which distractions were just that—distractions that kept Him from accomplishing His tasks, and which were divine appoints from God.
Like Christ, you and I need to learn to identify distractions and get rid of them quickly. We also need to learn how to discern those divine moments and heed them!
Christ was not only good at get rid of distractions and discerning divine appointments. He was also able to handle the pressure and stress placed on him by the demands of those around Him. As women in the home or work place, we know what it feels like to have people depending on us. My question is how does Christ handle all His responsibility; how does He handle all His stress and pressure without blowing it? The secret is found in verse 35.
Today was about Christ secret. Tomorrow, we uncover Paul’s! So stay tuned!
Laurie Ann says
Awesome post! Living life in the fast lane has left me spiritually dry before. I have try to move over to the slow lane as often as I can and seek God. It’s hard, but with the warning of my blinker (emails or phone calls to family and friends explaining I’ll be out of touch for a day or so) helps.
Laurie says
I enjoyed your post today. I think it is so true for many of us. I especially liked what you said about as a believer our lives are not our own. We belong to God and we should let Him set the priorities. I must admit I tend to let that get out of wack in my life. Thanks!