Journal Entry ~ 11/18/18

37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." - Matthew 9:37-38

Labor. We labor in this life.  We labor so much that we can feel quite overwhelmed by the amount of work in front of us. But...are we laboring for the right things?  

There are times that reading a passage like this, and being reminded that we are to be earnestly praying for the Lord to send out laborers into the harvest, and we are to be doing the work of the Kingdom, that it can all just feel overwhelming. We already have so much on our plates ~ taking care of our families, our work, ourselves. When am I supposed to fit in Kingdom work?  I am already so busy, I just don't have time to labor for Him this week.  How very sad. 

Perhaps one of the reasons the 'laborers are few' is because we're all so busy doing something else. My heart is so guilty of these selfish thoughts. It is in those moments that I need to remind myself that my God would never create a schedule for me that's too busy for Him. His schedule for me allows plenty of time for Him ~ for quiet devotion and prayer, for worship, for community, for kingdom work.  He would never allow a schedule for me that leaves me feeling overwhelmed - that's not His plan for me, that's my plan. 

I'm learning to recognize and turn around that overwhelmed feeling sooner these days than in the past. When I begin to feel overwhelmed, it's is a great indicator to me that my priorities have been misaligned again, and I need to spend time realigning my priorities with Him. So instead of rushing through all that I have to do, I'm trying to stop in those moments, and spend some quiet time with Him, allowing Him to remind me of my purpose. 

Our purpose here on earth is found in this passage. We are here to advance His kingdom, to share His love with the world. That's it. How many things on my to do list are focused on that work? We must guard our hearts and our minds from the lies of the enemy of this world, who will tell us there are other things more important in this world. The enemy will shift our priorities quickly out of order, and we let him win when we feel overwhelmed. My priority is Him. Praying He keeps my focus on Him and His purpose for my life. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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