Whatever You Do...

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
Colossians 3:23


When I thought about this verse today, I realized that the principle here, of working as to GOD and not man, reflects one of the first "commandments" of effective time management. When I teach a workshop on How to Write A Novel, I tell writers that the biggest and most effective thing they can do to reach the goal of novel writing is to FOCUS unswervingly from it. To work at it consistently, and without allowing distractions to get in their line of vision. Is not this the same as working at it "with all your heart"?



In this small verse, the Lord gives us one of the MOST effective principles to live by, period. Even people who live ungodly lives, if they follow this idea, of working at something with all their heart, can accomplish great goals.

This does not mean that we develop tunnel vision and ONLY work at one goal; it does not mean that we spend all our time obsessed with one idea. We can approach every area of our lives with the hope and privilege of bringing it to the feet of Christ, offering it to Him, and working towards improvement in that area for Him, and not man.

Think about something you have wanted to improve at, something that has long been on your heart but which you have not focused on, or made holy through consecration to the Lord. Can you think of one thing, one goal, one aspiration that has been on the back burner but needs to be brought forward? Perhaps you have a few things on the burners of your life, and they all need to be consecrated?

Give those things to the Lord today; do it right now.
Ask Him to empower you as you offer them to Him, that you may work as unto GOD and not man. Thank Him for the help and improvement you will receive.

And, if your goals are not in line with what God would have you do, ask Him to help you give them up, period. Life is too short to spend it on the wrong pursuits.

Whatever you do today, do it as unto Him!

Today's image from www.readthespirit.com

Schedule and Priorities

“They want me to help decorate the church Saturday night, but I can’t even get my own house straightened up! What should I do?”

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: There are a lot of books and seminars on time management, but the best counsel comes from God Himself. I’m learning to submit my calendar and daily schedule to the Lord to seek His will for my priorities.

When interruptions come, I ask Him for wisdom to know whether they’re from Him or whether I should avoid them as unnecessary distractions. I try to remember Proverbs 16:3: “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

There will probably never be enough time in a day for you to finish your whole to-do list. There definitely won’t be time for you to do everything everybody else wants you to do. But there will always be enough time for you to do everything on God’s to-do list for your day. When is the last time you asked for His direction?

With Seeking Him, I’m Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

[This post from Revive Our Hearts, with Nancy Leigh DeMoss.] I just love Nancy's brief daily devotions, and am happy to share them now and again on this blog--especially while I finish my latest book; which, by the way, I have just newly committed to Him. : ) What project or situation do you need to entrust to God? Do it now!