Hi how are you all today? I have had a very stressful week as stated in my last post but as of tomorrow I am on holidays. So this post is being written close to the other one. It is a very God timed and God needed holiday. How was your week?
This week I want to blog on time for expansion. I am not sure about you but my days are getting not only busier with one thing but it feels like I am having to juggle many balls in a day. From daughter of God to wife, to mother, to step mother, to worker, to ministry, to home and then me, the responsibilities can be all consuming. So what do we do when we feel overwhelmed?
In 1 Chronicles 4 in the Message Bible, we read the story of Jabez. He was named that because he was borne in pain. Overwhelming in our lives can sometimes feel like soul pain. So what did he do. The Bible states:
9-10 Jabez was a better man than his brothers, a man of honor. His mother had named him Jabez (Oh, the pain!), saying, “A painful birth! I bore him in great pain!” Jabez prayed to the God of Israel: “Bless me, O bless me! Give me land, large tracts of land. And provide your personal protection—don’t let evil hurt me.” God gave him what he asked.
Jabez asked God to bless him and provide expansion. So God did.
How do we apply this in our lives?
We only have 24 hours in a day and in that time we must get adequate rest and nourish our bodies as well as all the other tasks. Skimping on sleep should never be an option so how would expansion work?
I often pray, when I am feeling overwhelmed that God would protect my time. Every time I pray this, God always enables me to accomplish everything that I needed to do that day. But word of warning, God will not allow us to keep the pace flat out for a long period of time. He didn’t create our bodies to sustain that.
Let’s look at one day in the life of Jesus and all He accomplished.
Mark 1: 21 to 37 in the Message Bible is a good place to start.
Verse 21-22- Jesus spent the whole day teaching in the synagogue.
Verse 23 – 28- Jesus commands an evil spirit to come out of a man and sets him free.
Verse 29-31- Jesus goes to Peter’s house where He finds Peter’s mother in law sick so Jesus heals her and she cooks them dinner.
Verse 32-34 – Jesus held a healing ministry at night for probably hours.
Maybe Jesus slept a little but in verses 35-37, Jesus got up before dawn and went to pray.
That was a long day for Jesus. If I had that sort of day, I would need rest the following day. The Bible states that Jesus only did what God told Him. So if God told Him to do all that, then God would have sustained Him.
Too often in our lives, we aren’t doing what God told us. Our busyness is us hiding from something in our lives. It could be loneliness, unworthiness, feeling like you have to keep going to win some sort of approval from others and so on. There are many reasons.
But if we are busy doing what God told us too then He will protect our time and sustain us.
This week look at how you are spending your time. Make sure it is God ordained and if not, ask God what He doesn’t want you doing.
God doesn’t want us overwhelmed with busyness but sustained in purpose.
Bless you and keep living the life God intended for you.
Karen
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