What God shows you will get challenged. You can either fight the threat or cooperate with it.
I don’t recommend you give up; you don’t have to abandon God’s Word. But when you find your heart arguing with the Lord, acknowledge it. And dare to find out why.
A while back, I wrote about an insight I believe God had revealed to me. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” At the heart of this verse lay a central thought: “there is time.” You have enough time. Even if you feel rushed or burdened, there’s time enough for you.
But (no surprise here), my faith in this Scripture soon got tested. I wrote about that experience, too.
Before God had spoken to me, I had been wrestling with all kinds of demands on my time. I assumed that this Bible verse would give me a sense of victory and reduce my distress.
But it didn’t. The pressure didn’t subside. I’d catch myself on several occasions telling people, “I don’t have enough time.” I tried to interrupt myself or change my wording, but it bothered me that I repeated the line. Was this just a lazy habit or did it suggest something more profound?
Here’s what I was thinking:
- I’m busy
- When I’m busy, I feel pressured
- But God said I have enough time
- I believe Him
- But I still feel pressured
- Now I can’t turn anybody down because God removed my excuse of a lack of time
I can’t say I don’t have time because I do.
Don’t I?
God unearthed the root of my trouble – priorities. I do have sufficient time, but not for everything. God creates the conditions for what’s worthwhile.
I’d lost control over my schedule. Or maybe I’d given it away. Other people were filling up my day by their requests, suggestions, and invitations. Greg McKeown warns that “if you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.” Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE, agrees: you must “control your destiny or someone else will.” There’s no escaping this: “we can either make our choices deliberately or allow other people’s agendas to control our lives.”
What’s worse, if you give away all your time, you lose your freedom, too. You end up incarcerating yourself: “when we don’t set clear boundaries in our lives we can end up imprisoned by the limits others set for us.”
Do you feel like you’re in jail? Has your calendar become your prison? Just telling yourself that you have enough time won’t cut it; even quoting verses doesn’t guarantee success. Why? Because God uses His Word to expose deeper problems. My issue appeared to be a lack of time or maybe a time management problem. But fundamentally, my life wasn’t lining up with my values.
I discovered that Jesus wanted me to learn how to say yes to priorities and no to anything of lesser value.
Don’t mix up your yesses and noes. According to business consultant Justin Bariso, “every time you say yes to something you don’t really want, you’re actually saying no to the things you do.” Ouch! I don’t want to waste myself like that, do you?
When you say no to minor opportunities, you can say yes to something fulfilling and enriching. So don’t be afraid of turning down a few requests. As McKeown observes, “only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all can you make your highest contribution towards what really matters.”
After the Lord’s correction, I’ve found an increasing sense of focus and order in my routines and commitments. I don’t control life but I don’t have to. Orienting myself around Jesus helps me handle everything bidding for my attention.
What’s essential in your life? What is God’s will for you? Jesus will help you think through questions like these. As His disciple, you’ll clarify His direction and purpose. And you’ll confirm that the Bible was right all along. You do have enough time; time for what’s important.
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