The Stressless Lifeናሙና

Day Four: Running Out of Time—How Do I Find God’s Peace in My Schedule?

Scripture: Proverbs 16:9, Isaiah 48:17, John 5:17, 19–20

We’ll never remove every stressor from our lives, but we can remove some stressors—maybe even a lot of stressors. We can be proactive in limiting the threat that stress poses in our lives. Specifically, in our days ahead, we’re going to examine four factors that are major causes of stress in the modern world: schedules, relationships, decisions, and circumstances that are beyond our control.

When it comes to our schedules—meaning the amount of time we have and our plan for spending it—there are many places in Scripture to find wisdom and guidance. We can start by looking at how Jesus structured His schedule.

No person in the history of the world has ever had more to accomplish than Jesus. Wouldn’t you say that’s true? Jesus’s mission was so huge and so cosmically significant that no one else has ever come close—and yet it’s also true that Jesus was never in a hurry.

The reason Jesus was never in a hurry is that He lived His life in lockstep with the will of God the Father. He was perfectly aware of everything the Father wanted Him to accomplish each day. And, just as importantly, Jesus was perfectly aware of everything the Father wasn’t interested in Him accomplishing.

How did Jesus know these things? Because He spent time daily with the Father as our passage in John 5 shows us. What was Jesus saying? First, God is working. God has specific plans and purposes He carries out each day, and He wants His children to be involved in those plans.

Second, Jesus was saying that His primary focus was to understand where the Father was working and how the Father wanted Him to join in His activity with His daily life. “For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing.” Jesus later told His disciples, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38).

Through His fellowship with the Father, Jesus ordered His life around the will of His Father. Communion with Jesus is the building block on which our days are to be built.

In what way is Jesus the central component of your schedule every day? If that doesn’t describe you, are you willing to make changes? Spend a few minutes confessing how you have omitted God from ordering your days and ask Him to usher you into the habit of daily surrender.