Simplify Your LIFE

So many people would so want to be used by God, but they say they’re too busy. Why? Because they’ve got their own agendas. They’ve got their plans and dreams and ambitions, and they don’t have any time to give to God.

They’ve got their priorities turned around the wrong way… we’re to FIRST seek the Kingdom of God, and then all the other things will be provided. All the other things will fall in place.

I find it so amazing every time, when I am overwhelmed with so much to do, or so many problems that I can’t handle, and I just stop and reprioritize. And I go to the Father… I spend time, quality time with Him in His Word… and so many things get handled behind my back. Plus, since my priorities have changed, those overwhelming circumstances have also changed.

If you’re serious about being used by God, you don’t have to wait for a great calling, the “one day that God will open a mighty door” for you to be wonderfully used on some mission field or in some preaching capacity. You can be used by God any day, everyday, all day.

Most of the time, we hang so tight to the steering wheel that God couldn’t alter our course if He wanted to. Just say, “Lord, what do I need to let go of? What do I need to stop doing or cut out? What’s holding me back, keeping me from running the race you have planned for me?”

One of the biggest barriers is distractions. Jesus said, “Anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). There are many distractions that get in God’s way… One big one is to try to please everybody with the expectations they have for us. You’ve got to decide who you’re going to please first in life. You can only have one “number one.”

Another big distraction is “projects” or hobbies. There’s nothing wrong with having hobbies. But they can so easily distract you from the most important things. If so, you need to let them go. Just recently my wife let go of a garage-full of “projects”; things we’d hope to get to, one day. It’s amazing how much space those hobbies can occupy in your heart.

And then, of course, your past. Maybe you’re holding on to guilt and regret, or to resentment, or grief. Here’s the problem with that: When you’re stuck in the past, you can’t get on with the present—and you certainly can’t get on with God’s future for you. Your past is past. It’s over! So let it go.

Stop now and re-prioritize your life. Seek first the Kingdom, every day. And major on the majors. What do you need to let go of? “Everything is permissible, but not everything is helpful” (1Cor 10:23). Many things are not necessarily wrong; they’re just not necessary. I like what Rick Warren says, “Life is often a choice between, ‘Am I going to do something good?’ or ‘Am I going to do what’s best?'”

If the devil can’t make you bad, he’ll mess with your priorities, he’ll make you busy. He’ll get you so busy that you don’t have time for the important things—ministry, mission, and, most important of all, time alone with God.

You can’t do it all. So do what matters most! Simplify your life and eliminate distractions so God can use you.