Don't Exhaust Yourself

You have your to-do list prepared and you take a deep sigh wondering how you are going to get it all done.  You feel overwhelmed and stressed at the thought of tackling the load. You carry on day by day getting exhausted and irritable as the days progress.  Stop and ask yourself, “Am I doing what I’m supposed to be doing?”

 

Now, obviously, we all have responsibilities that require effort and sacrifice.  So we aren’t talking about living a reckless life, but I challenge you to think about your load and through prayer, determine if what you are doing is fruitful.  Sometimes, we get wrapped into doing tasks, events, etc…that we shouldn’t be involved in.  Maybe, we were meant to do a task for a season but that season has passed.  Maybe, we were never supposed to be involved to begin with. 

 

Proverbs 31 is talks about the virtuous woman.  Verse 16 says “she considers a [new] field before she buys or accepts it [expanding prudently and not courting neglect of her present duties by assuming other duties].”  In other words, she doesn’t take on more than she can handle at the risk of neglecting her present duties.  Verse 17 says “She girds herself with strength [spiritual, mental, and physical fitness for her God-given task] and makes her arms strong and firm.”  Notice the words “God-given task”.  Are you in line with what God wants you to be doing?  Sometimes, we spend so much energy on things that don’t really add value to our lives, our family, or our household.  Instead, they add stress to our lives and take away energy from us to do the things we should be doing. 

 

Stop exhausting yourself by fulfilling the role someone else should be fulfilling.  You have your own role, your own purpose.  Focus on that! And if you don’t know your purpose yet, then begin by praying to God and ask him to reveal his plan for your life.  Ask him to reveal the areas in life where you are being wasteful, or not adding value.  Set your priorities and allow God to guide you through the process of change.  It’s not easy to let go of certain things especially if we’ve formed a habit out of them, but if it’s not adding value, we need to be willing to let it go.  We need to ask God to help us redirect our energy on the matters he wants us to focus.