Commitment Overload

"If you don't go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don't deserve me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me."  (Matthew 10:38-39 MSG)


Is your life focused on accomplishing God’s plans or are you running in circles trying to accomplish your plans? Do you sometimes feel your mind is harnessing a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions and just can’t seem to slow it down enough to maintain order and focus on what is important? Does it seem distractions are coming from all directions?

In the American society, we have become so accustomed to a fast and busy lifestyle. In addition to work and family responsibilities, we have endless events, activities and relationships outside of the home that we are trying to maintain. We have fallen into the belief that we are required to make a million different commitments to make our lives wonderful and fulfilling.  I sometimes think we feel an obligation to over-involve ourselves because we think we might miss out on something.  Maybe we will miss out on wealth if we don't work longer hours or join another business venture.  Maybe we will miss out in relationships if we don't attend every event we are invited to.  Or maybe our children will miss out on a sport that they could be really great at if we don’t involve them in every one possible.  I sometimes wonder if we commit to so many different things for the purpose of achieving status - trying to keep up with the Jones'.  Or perhaps we overbook our calendars because we believe that nobody could do the task or run the committee as well as we could.  Though our hearts may be in the right place, it is important to step back and ask ourselves:  "Am I fulfilling each one of these tasks with excellence?  Am I staying committed and following through?  Am I managing my time efficiently? Am I aligning my priorities with God's desires for my life?"  If the answer is yes to each of these questions...then praise God!  If your answer is no to any of them, then it might be wise to slow down and seek God's direction for what needs to be realigned in your life.

 We will be spending next week discussing order, balance and commitment in our lives.  Is God our number one priority?  What about family, our physical body, our work and even our rest. We also need to become aware of distractions and time-wasters and learn to set healthy boundaries.  Today allow yourself to slow down and listen for his still small voice. Let Him take full control of your life and allow Him to direct your future.  Begin to seek out what he see’s as the priorities for you and be willing to lay down some of your own that may not be ideal for reaching your fullest potential. Our lives are a gift from God, and what we choose to do with them is our gift back to Him.