It’s staggering to contemplate the demands placed on Jesus’ life. Not only did He come to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10), but He was continually sought out by the multitudes. Naturally, once you heal a blind man and cleanse a leper, you’re pretty much in high demand!
Jesus could have spent all day every day and pulled frequent all nighters to meet the expectations of others, and He still would have had more to do than could be completed in a lifetime.
So how did Jesus determine what should have His attention each day? How did He replenish Himself so He could give freely to the needs of others?
The answer is simple. He spent time with the Father.
Throughout the Gospels, we see Christ seeking out quiet and solitude that He might hear the voice of the Father and enjoy fellowship with Him. Often, this meant that Christ rose early to carve out this time before the demands of the day descended upon Him. “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35).
Beware of the trap of proud drivenness that places productivity above worship. We put ourselves into such positions of frenzied importance that we believe the world will cave in if we pause our activity long enough to spend time with the Lord. In reality, the only way to discern what really matters most and to be a wise steward of our time and energy is to spend time at the feet of Jesus. It is in these moments that we gain His perspective and listen for His direction. It is here that we are reminded of His sufficiency and ask Him for His strength for the day.
The answer to overload is not trying harder, but to comprehend the work of the cross and to live in a more vital awareness of God’s grace. Thus equipped with God’s wisdom and perspective, we have the capacity to live, give, and serve according to the priorities God has placed in our lives.
[Note: This post is an excerpt from my new book Stewarding Life. The book is at press now, but it is available for pre-orders now. The paragraphs above are taken from the chapter “Stewarding Margin.”]
