Deadlines
I am so behind. Sherri and I got back last night from a long weekend in North Georgia, where we attended our nephew’s wedding. I’ve spent the better part of the day working on next week’s Galatian’s podcast. A podcast that I missed posting this week because it’s not ready. It’s still not ready! But I am done for the day. I’ll pick back up tomorrow morning.
Some of you subscribe to Living Life magazine and know that I contribute monthly to this excellent devotional guide. Well, this month’s deadline is approaching, and I need to shift my priorities to my monthly assignment.
I know it sounds like I’m whining. I’m not. I’m just working hard to keep my head above the water!
And so, in light of that, I thought I’d share a few thoughts with you today on coping with stress and deadlines in our lives. These are some things I have learned and am continuing to learn as I seek to keep in step with the Holy Spirit’s leadership in my life.
First and foremost, remember that a lot of our deadlines are self-imposed. We set timetables that are out of cinque with God’s schedule for us. There are so many stories in the gospels that drive this point home. Occasions when it appeared Jesus was late, when, in reality, he was right on time.
The raising of Lazarus from the dead is probably the best-known case of this. Jesus was late. Lazarus, who had been sick, died before the Lord could heal him. But Jesus wasn’t meant to heal Lazarus. Jesus was meant to raise Lazarus from the dead.
Maybe God has something up His sleeve that you don’t know about. Maybe there are some priorities for your life other than that looming deadline you’ve set for yourself.
That brings me to the second thing I’ve learned about coping with deadlines and the stress they bring, and that is that God’s priorities are quite often different from ours. The priest and the Levite who passed by on the other side of the road to avoid helping the wounded traveler may have had good reasons for doing so. So-called, good reasons that is. Were they on a mission for God? Were the members of a local village waiting for them to arrive? Who knows? But it’s pretty clear from the story that both missed God’s calling to help this beaten man.
Don’t think for a minute that God will not test your priorities. And don’t confuse your priorities with those things that matter most in life and most to God.
For my part, I’ve been pulling a double shift when it comes to housework. Sherri is slammed at work. She comes home every night exhausted. So, I’m cleaning, cooking, and trying to make her time off restful. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is God’s priority for me right now.
A third thing, and I’ll make this the last, is that even when we miss a deadline, it’s not the end of life as we know it. Yes, there are important deadlines in school and at work. I’ve lived my life by such deadlines. Confession: I continue to have a recurring dream of missing an exam or not turning in an assignment on time, and I haven’t been in school for decades! I have no doubt this recurring dream, in all its various forms, is the product of years of sermon and lesson deadlines from church and seminary. But I’ve learned that the world does not come to an end when I’m not fully prepared.
I know what some of you are thinking - “Tell that to my boss, Dan.” Well, maybe you need to do what one of my dear friends and former church members did: he changed jobs!
Here’s the bottom line - God is in control. He is at work in your life and mine to maximize our fruitfulness in His kingdom. In light of that, I want you to take a deep breath and remember the words of I Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
The worried cow would have lived till now if she had just saved her breath. But she feared her hay wouldn’t last all day, so she mooed herself to death.
Stop mooing and ask God to help you keep in step with His Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)
In Christ,
Dan
Check out my podcasts from Church on the Edge and my books on Kindle.