How God Turns Setbacks Into ComebacksSample

If You Want to Grow, Sometimes You Have to Say ‘No’

Sometimes the most important word to remember to grow spiritually will simply be “no.”

Your faith journey is a long one, and you can’t run a marathon with a couple of barbells in your hands. Too many people start off well but quit too early because everything they’re carrying wears them out. You need to declutter because God wants you to go the distance.

Plug a light into a battery, and it’ll last a long time. If you add a hundred more lights it’ll drain more quickly.

Quickly drained—does that describe your life? That’s what happens when you say “yes” to everything. Why? Because you end up trying to do too much. You need to learn to say “no”—even to some of the good things—because they slow you down and keep you from running the race God has set before us.

This may surprise you: Busyness isn’t a virtue. God has given you just the right amount of things to do with the time you have. He never gives you too little or too much. If you’re experiencing burnout—or quickly headed there—you need to remove the extra weight in your life. You need to remove all of it, not just some.

Hebrews 12:1 says, “Let us strip off every weight that slows us down” (NLT).

Weights aren’t necessarily bad or sinful. They are unnecessary distractions that slow you down from doing what God wants you to do with your life. A weight could be a relationship, a hobby, or a habit like watching TV.

The dead weight isn’t worth it. Learn to say “no” so you can grow, and save your “yes” for God’s best in your life.

Talk It Over

What weights are slowing you down? What good things are you doing that might be keeping you from God’s best for you?

Why do you think we feel so pressured to say “yes” to everything that comes our way?

Try saying “no” to one thing this week that you would normally agree to. Notice the difference it makes.

This devotional © 2019 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.