A little neglect never hurt anything…

Most of us would never say this, but many of us act as if we believe it. How often have a few minutes of neglect cost you a lot more time than you imagined?

Not going to check on little ones the first time we think it’s just a bit too quiet – only to go a few minutes later to find they’ve colored on the wall or done something else that we might have prevented if we had followed that first mother’s instinct.

Then there is the person you always meant to share the Gospel with, but it never seemed to be quite the right moment.

As usual, Scripture speaks plainly about this topic.

Ephesians 5:15-16 KJ “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

Colossians 4:5 KJ “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” Colossians 4:5

Redeeming the time – sounds rather old fashioned, right? What does it mean to you? No, I’m not going to put another guilt trip on you about getting more done by working harder or faster. But rather I want to encourage all of us – yes, myself too – to redeem the time by making sure we are asking the Lord what HE has for us to do, instead of surging off in our own direction, following our own goals.

Matthew 11:29-30 is a very familiar verse to most of us, but do we really hear what the Lord is saying?

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Notice those last few words – easy, light. Is that how you would describe your daily work? I’m afraid I wouldn’t either most days.

The problem certainly isn’t with the Lord, so it must be with us – things like how we schedule ourselves, or what we expect from ourselves, or that we don’t ask the Lord for His schedule.

I have to confess that I’ve been putting way too much on myself and my children this last week. My expectations were too high for any of us and we were all very stressed out. I’ve finally cleared all our plates, and asked the Lord to fill them with what He has for us to do.  You know, I think we may actually get more done this way than the way I was going about it at first.

One thing I did was list all the days we have before a completed project. Then under each day I listed those things that aren’t negotiable for each day. Next I made a list of all the things I would like to accomplish before our trip. Notice, I said, “things I would like to accomplish.”  My next step is to prayerfully ask the Lord to show me where they fit into the schedule – or if they even fit into the schedule. I want to prioritize this list in the Lord’s way.

Just a couple of days ago I was moving through a “to do” list that couldn’t possibly be accomplished. As I talked with my children about prioritizing it, one of them suggested we have the tires on the van rotated at Sam’s Club while we shopped. Well, it needed to be done before we leave, but I didn’t have it on today’s list. Anyway, I decided to follow my son’s suggestion and we dropped the van at the auto service department on our way in. They weren’t busy and could have it ready by the time we finished our shopping. Way to go, Lord! I would get another thing off my list today – something I didn’t even have on it. When we picked up the van they told us that there was a nail in one of our tires and they had repaired it.

Isn’t the Lord good? Thankfully I listened to this “interruption” or I probably would have had a bigger unexpected interruption in the near future.

I want to get used to hearing that still small voice as I plan my days so that I am only doing what the Lord expects me to accomplish each day. How about you?

Phyllis

Sign me up!

http://www.Phyllis-Sather.com