How Can We Let Go of Doing It All?
We want to be a part of so many things in life…and we want to be really good at them all! Often we equate success to productivity and measure worth in our ability to be efficient and doing the most we possibly can. Braxton reminds us why and how we can let go of “doing it all”.
But God Demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
A dear friend and mentor of mine often says, “Stop doing, start being!” It’s a funny thing, because simply “being” rather than “doing” is so countercultural.
What would you say if I told you the absolute most productive thing that we can do on any given day is pray? To spend quality time with our Lord and Savior? Many would call me crazy, but this is true! “The list” will never fully be complete, something can always be done better, and we might never fully be satisfied with our work.
God calls us to a life otherwise. Below are three ways to prioritize letting go of doing it all:
- Emphasize rest and know it requires faith! Here’s a dose of truth, rest requires faith. Why? Because the world tells us rest is laziness. There’s a distinct difference between rest in how God intended it (Genesis 2:2-3) vs slothful sin. Resting fills us up and better equips us to do well in the things actually deserving our time and effort. Rest doesn’t just mean sleep. It can mean taking a break from the regular demands of life in several life-giving ways.
- Decide how much is enough. This might best happen before opportunities arise…like before school starts decide how many extra-curricular activities your family should be involved in. Even God, who certainly didn’t need to rest, chose to on the 7th day. Why? Because He wanted to model properly the need we have for rest. Knowing our limits and when enough is enough is crucial. Recognizing this will also allow us to create space to recharge.
- Learn when to say no. This is incredibly difficult, especially for the heart of a people-pleaser like myself. We should ask for wisdom to identify when we are NEARLY stretched too thin. None of us can do it all, nor do we have too! Let’s simply be who Christ has called us to be, and allow our kids to do the same. Saying no to someone we love doesn’t mean we love them less, it simply means we are having faith to trust God with what He has filled our plates with already.
All things that we do deserve our best effort and due diligence, but don’t fall into the trap of equating success or worth to how much we do. The most productive thing we can do is pray, and spend time with our Heavenly Father. Simply be in His presence allows us to do all we need to do in any given day. Let’s trust Him together!
Camper Corner:
School, sports, family, friends…the list goes on and on. Life seems to only get busier. It’s important to remember that we can only do so much, and that spending time with God should always be #1 on the list. How can you choose to make God your #1 priority even when life is crazy busy? Are you able to see when you are doing way too much?
