"Fine. ... Well, do you really want to know?"
For most of us, the "Fine" response is automatic. It's noncommittal. It's said without feeling. It's just a semi-polite social response to keep us from getting hooked into a long discussion we don't want and for which we don't have time.
Do I sound a little cynical? Probably. But, I know where I am. I know where a lot of folks with whom I minister find themselves. I hear from hundreds of people each week who are not fine, they're "sloggin' through" barely making it and getting further and further behind each day.
How about you? How's your email inbox ... your "to-do" lists ... your jobs to get done around the house list ... your new projects list for work? Got your bills paid, your checkbook balanced, your yard in good shape, and your house clean, and yours cars washed and waxed? Are you up to date on your physical check-ups, your dental service, and your haircuts? What about family correspondence? Got your folks written and your kids all called? What about those thank-you notes and sympathy cards? Your refrigerator stocked and your cars full of gas? Everything checked off in your PDA to-do list?
It's all never-ending isn't it! You get one job done and there's another list to start. It's like lint in the dryer; the things we have to do just seem to multiply every time we close the door and start another load.
So what do we do with our feelings of being overwhelmed and behind? What do we do with all the slog we have to wade through just to get by?
Here are a few suggestions.
Come Away:
The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and what they had taught. Then Jesus said, "Let's get away from the crowds for a while and rest." There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn't even have time to eat. They left by boat for a quieter spot. (Mark 6:30-32 NLT)
Come away from the noise and business of everyday and spend time with Jesus and those close relationships that make life work. We get so caught up in the crush of what we have to do, that we lose perspective, cut ourselves off from renewing relationships, and work far less productively. Some time away restores and recharges us and enables us to work more productively. Even more importantly, it helps us get re-centered in God's purpose for our lives.
Clarify:
The next morning Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find him. They said, "Everyone is asking for you."But he replied, "We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too, because that is why I came." (Mark 1:35-38 NLT)
We must constantly go back to that sacred center for our lives. God made us with a purpose in mind. We have things he wants us to do that only we can do. When we work in the center of God's purpose for us, we are not only more productive, we are also more focused and fulfilled. With all the focus on living "purpose-driven" or "purpose-led" lives, we need to be reminded that finding our purpose is not the goal; the goal is living out that purpose in our daily lives. Clarifying that purpose and refining our schedules to put purpose issues first on the agenda help us live out God's purpose for us.
Commit:
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. ... Then Jesus said to them all, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." (Psalm 37:5;Luke 9:23 NLT)
Commit to your purpose and to honoring God in living out that purpose rather than just being blown around by our sense of the next urgent thing. Commit each day to offer that day to the Lord and to be led by the Holy Spirit. Commit your ways to him and to his purposes for you. Commit to order your day based on his revealed will in Scripture, your sense of purpose, and your responsibilities to your family. You will not always live up to the level of your commitment, but without that daily commitment to live for God and his purposes in your life, you will be blown from urgent thing to urgent thing and never really do the central, essential, and purpose driven things.
Cluster:
Jesus said ... "Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.'" (Luke 9:32-33)
Yes, there are daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly maintenance tasks that must be done. These must be done just to make it to the next day, week, month, year, etc. However, if we don't cluster those "must do" maintenance tasks, we bounce around from one to another wasting time and energy. Clustering helps us set aside maintenance times and get those accomplished in blocks, furnishing us with momentum to move to the crucial areas of our purpose.
So guess what? As I write this, I'm in the middle of a clustering of must do maintenance tasks. I'm working hard, but anticipating tomorrow after church getting away and spending some rest time for about 36 hours with my wife. When I'm done, I'm meeting with my elders to refine my sense of purpose and ministry. The following day, I'm back to clustering and trying to catch up on email and editing that I've put off for too long. Then, I will address the crucial areas of my ministry in a block of time reserved for undisturbed work?
Will it work? It has in the past.
Will it work this time? If the Lord wills it, then it will work. (James 4:13-16) If not, he has other things of more importance for me to do and I'll re-engage on my plan again. Well, talk with you next week. Pardon me, but I need to go take some more lint out of the dryer.
