God's Not Asking You To Take On The World

 

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14

 

 

If you are like me, you're sometimes overwhelmed by all there is to do. 

At such times we follow one of two courses open to us. 

One, we dwell on "all there is to do" and get tired just thinking about it.  We then tend to rationalize, "I'm just one person. I can't be expected to do everything." The next thought can logically be, Why try? What difference will my little contribution make?  So we fail to do the one or two or three things we can do.  This robs us of a feeling of fulfillment and also throws an added burden on other people who then have to do these things.

Two, we tackle a pile of things, and from sheer lack of hours and limited energy, some of these tasks are left half done. 

In some instances it would have been better if they had not been started.

 

Either option brings frustration.  What, then, is the solution of the too-busy program?  Paul found the answer.  He had his "thing", his "one thing." 

Certainly Paul had more than one area of activity; he preached, taught, traveled, wrote,

to name a few; but each one fed into his total goal.

 "Pressing on to the mark of the prize of his high calling."

Paul worked at his trade, along the way, to support himself, but whatever he gave himself to was always with his ultimate aim in view. 

In this, he can be an excellent example for all of us.

 

For the committed Christian, the supreme goal ought to be, "How can I best serve the Lord in the circumstances in which He has placed me today?"

 

We may at times have to close our ears to the suggestions and ideas of other people concerning how we can accomplish our goal.  For God is not asking us to take on the world, to meet every need, to work at every project about which we hear.  But He is expecting us to do something to make an impact on others around us.

  To relieve our frustration over "all there is to do" and to achieve our goal of doing our "one thing," Let's ask God to direct us. Ask the Lord, what will YOU have me to do today?"

Then let's Enjoy His peace as we go ahead and do it.

 

Many Blessings,