Exhausted. Empty. Enslaved. Do those words describe you? I believe that God never piles on more than we can handle. We need to learn to say “no” to some of what you've been saying yes.
Think about changing your lifestyle pace from "hurry" to a “sustainable pace.” ’The question is, “How do I live life at a sustainable pace? If I keep living at the current pace, there will be a crash.
When saying “no” to people is saying “yes” to God
What to do when you are overbooked, overworked, and overstressed.
Are you doing more than God intended?
Do you feel like you are constantly living in a rat race?
Wouldn’t it be great to think at the end of each day that we were leaving no important thing undone that first things really were first?
God never drives us to the point of burnout. God never burns us. God never gives us more things that are beyond the strength or ability He provides.
When we become overwhelmed by our commitments and responsibilities, we are operating on their own agenda. Many followers of Christ are at risk of assuming responsibility for things we should not think, the work is never completed, there is always another phone call to make, another person who needs help. We must learn to figure out where we have assumed ownership for things God has not intended for us to do.
John 17:4 NIVI have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.
Jesus did everything the Father wanted Him to do. He left nothing undone. However, the Bible never shows Jesus as being in a hurry or experiencing stress. Despite the enormous pressures on Him, Jesus never appeared to be overwhelmed or behind schedule. How did He do it?
Mark 1:35-38 NIV Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”
Fulfilling His Father’s agenda was more important to Jesus than eating.
John 4:34 NIV “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
John 6:38-40 NIV For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
Most of us live our lives spending time doing everything that the people around us want us to do and, if we have any free time, we spend that time doing what we want to do. But we miss what God wants us to do.
Some of us can’t say “no” because our sense of self-worth demands that we make ourselves indispensable to everyone. We feel that our existence is justified only when we are doing something. However, healthy people say “no” far more than they say “yes.” Saying “no” means that we realize that we are human beings, with human limitations, who have to make choices with our time.
One key to maintaining a sustainable pace is staying focused. Know how to say “no.” Say “no” every time an opportunity, no matter how noble, threatens to lure you from the task God has assigned to you. Learn how to say, “No. That’s not my calling. I’m sure God wants someone to do that, but it’s not me.”
The assignment God has given you is sustainable if you are pursuing it right. God knows what He’s doing. So, if it feels like things are out-of-control, then you probably are attempting to do things God never intended for you to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Think about changing your lifestyle pace from "hurry" to a “sustainable pace.” ’The question is, “How do I live life at a sustainable pace? If I keep living at the current pace, there will be a crash.
When saying “no” to people is saying “yes” to God
What to do when you are overbooked, overworked, and overstressed.
Are you doing more than God intended?
Do you feel like you are constantly living in a rat race?
Wouldn’t it be great to think at the end of each day that we were leaving no important thing undone that first things really were first?
God never drives us to the point of burnout. God never burns us. God never gives us more things that are beyond the strength or ability He provides.
When we become overwhelmed by our commitments and responsibilities, we are operating on their own agenda. Many followers of Christ are at risk of assuming responsibility for things we should not think, the work is never completed, there is always another phone call to make, another person who needs help. We must learn to figure out where we have assumed ownership for things God has not intended for us to do.
John 17:4 NIVI have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.
Jesus did everything the Father wanted Him to do. He left nothing undone. However, the Bible never shows Jesus as being in a hurry or experiencing stress. Despite the enormous pressures on Him, Jesus never appeared to be overwhelmed or behind schedule. How did He do it?
Mark 1:35-38 NIV Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”
Fulfilling His Father’s agenda was more important to Jesus than eating.
John 4:34 NIV “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
John 6:38-40 NIV For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
Most of us live our lives spending time doing everything that the people around us want us to do and, if we have any free time, we spend that time doing what we want to do. But we miss what God wants us to do.
Some of us can’t say “no” because our sense of self-worth demands that we make ourselves indispensable to everyone. We feel that our existence is justified only when we are doing something. However, healthy people say “no” far more than they say “yes.” Saying “no” means that we realize that we are human beings, with human limitations, who have to make choices with our time.
One key to maintaining a sustainable pace is staying focused. Know how to say “no.” Say “no” every time an opportunity, no matter how noble, threatens to lure you from the task God has assigned to you. Learn how to say, “No. That’s not my calling. I’m sure God wants someone to do that, but it’s not me.”
The assignment God has given you is sustainable if you are pursuing it right. God knows what He’s doing. So, if it feels like things are out-of-control, then you probably are attempting to do things God never intended for you to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
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