My sister-in-law gave me a dish towel that said, “Stop me before I volunteer AGAIN.” Every time she called me I was out the door for some kind of volunteer work. It was oh so true. I love people and I don’t really need an excuse to hang out with a crowd. However, what happened was volunteer overload. I became miserable because I was trying to do so many things and I was doing nothing well.
I realized I wasn’t honoring my commitments well, I wasn’t honoring my family by always being gone or stressed out, and I wasn’t honoring God. I finally quit everything and took some time to seek the Lord and find out what He was calling me to do. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us the Lord has plans for us. We can do a lot of things with our time. Many of them can be really good things that benefit people; however, if we aren’t doing what I call the “God-things” we were created to do, we’re missing the blessings. When you do what God calls you to do, you will work hard but it won’t seem like work. You may have bumps in the road you need to smooth out, but they won’t cause stress. Instead they will energize you. When you are walking out your calling, you are in the sweet spot. John 10:10 calls it abundant life or life to the full.
What are you doing with your time now? Is it what God called you to or is it what someone else called you to do? Did you have a burning passion inside of you to do the task or was your best friend desperate to fill a volunteer position so you got the call?
Psalm 129:14 tells us we were fearfully and wonderfully made. We aren’t made with cookie cutters. We are all unique individuals wired with our own giftings from God. Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” God has a “to do” list for us of things He prepared in advance for each of us to do. When we are doing something that wasn’t designed for us to do, not only are we taking on unnecessary burdens, we are stealing a blessing from someone else by doing the job they were created to do.
God never meant for us to be weighed down with the worries or work load of the world. When we take on things that aren’t ours to bear, our load gets heavy. When we take on what God intended for us to do, we still may have burdens to face, but they are light [Matthew 11:28-30].
What’s on your “to do” list today? What does God have on His “to do” list for you? Take time to ask Him and then stick with His list. You’ll be glad you did.