John 17:4, “I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” NKJV
Psalm 5:3, “Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:4 NLT.
How often don’t we all complain that we don’t have enough time in our day to get everything we are supposed to do done, and we are utterly exhausted? We have work obligations, family obligations, etc. So, the “list” we have made up for the day can become an idol to us, determining our sense of need for happiness on a seemingly good day versus a bad one, according to our own list. We have then made it a god in our life instead of doing each day what God wants us to do in obedience and honoring Him. I have to think about this myself and question what is on God’s list for me to do today, taking the whole picture into account from His perspective.
Jesus had quite a long list, wouldn’t you say, that He needed to do to accomplish God’s plan of redemption? Yet at the end of His life He declared, “I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” John 17:4 NKJV. Jesus accomplished this during the time on earth that God gave Him to do so. He doesn’t say He completed everything the disciples wanted Him to do, only what God gave Him to do.
What if, on your “to-do list,” you pray and say, “God, this is what I think I need to do today; what do you think, because I desperately need your help? I can’t do it on my own, and I want to give you glory in all that you have given me to do.” David did this and sought God’s counsel and wisdom in his responsibilities. The first thing he did each morning was give his requests to God and put his hope in God’s words.
Ephesians 2:10 explains our identity as it states, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Since this is true, remember you are not inferior and don’t need to compare yourself to anyone else or their great list of accomplishments. Grace-based living, preaching the gospel to oneself every day, leads to perseverance, producing virtues of serving with joy and peace, knowing one’s secure identity in Christ, in one’s pursuit of holiness. Each of us has seasons in our lives. What God gave me to do in my late twenties is different from what He has me to do now. The same is true for you. Yes, you have limitations – I have limitations. But God is enough is the truth we, and I, need to live by.
Start each day in God’s Word. Ask Him to correct any lies you believe about Him or misunderstandings as you read, helping you see His truth more clearly. Then ask God to guide your priorities and tasks for the day by His grace and sovereign will, so that your daily decisions are more aligned with His purpose. Conflict and chaos will expose our idols in our hearts – be mindful of that. Thrive where He has placed you by developing a deep and lasting relationship with our Lord and Savior through reading His Word daily and in prayer. Do your priorities lie in lies or truths? Ask God – He will tell you and set you free. Then pray Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”
Listen to Phil Wickham – The Name Above the Storm.