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Jesus said, “Blessed are you when you overcommit yourself and exhaust yourself and always say yes to everything and everybody on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven and earth. For you will be supremely loved and valued until you burn out and lose your noble reason for saying yes in the first place!
R. J Scherba (Christian Coach)
Every time I see this quote, I chuckle. It’s sarcastically funny. Sadly, it’s very true. Of course, Jesus didn’t say those words, but many of us believe that over-commitment and exhaustion are signs of our love and dedication to God.
And we get to this place by saying “yes” to everything we’re asked to do for God. And often it’s for a good and noble cause. We avoid saying “no” because we want to help others. We don’t want to let them down. And that’s great. But saying yes to the wrong things can hinder how effective you are at fulfilling your God-given purpose. If we’re not careful, we could find ourselves very, very busy with little to show for it except for burnout… and that helps no one.
“Good and noble” shouldn’t be the only measuring stick for saying yes. In addition, so seeking God personally, in your specific situation, you also ask yourself a few questions:
- Does this make good use of my time?
- Can I do this effectively given my current commitments to family, work or church?
- Will this constantly infringe on personal or family time?
- Am I saying yes with my whole heart or because I feel obligated?
- Does this drive me toward or away from God’s calling on my life?
Saying no to the wrong things leaves room for you to say yes to the right things. At the end of the day you want to spend time doing the things that contribute to God’s plan and purpose for your life, otherwise, all your work might be for naught.
Prayer: Father, teach me to make the most of my time. Help me to recognize when I need to say no and when I need to say yes so that I can make the most of my time here on earth and be effective in carrying out the plans of Your Kingdom.
© Deborah Ruck @ As Bold As THE Lion blog
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