God has been challenging me lately on what I spend my time doing during my free time. Lately, I have been the “yes man” when it comes to people asking me to help them. I say yes before I consult with God, because I have the skill or talent to complete the task(s) that is asked of me. At times, without realizing it, I say yes to things outside of God’s will, even when I am working in the gifts that He has given me.
God does not want us to be too busy for Him. He does not want us to fill our time with things and people that are not purposeful. God wants us to have time to worship and pray outside the church walls. Free time does not mean to fill it with unnecessary obligations and things.
When we fill the void with obligations and things that don’t fit into our lives, we tend to cause stress and exhaustion. We become overwhelmed and pressured to complete the task at hand. We do not want to break our promises to others, because we decided to say yes rather than nicely decline the offer. As long as we continue to say yes before asking God first, we will be doing things in our own power.
I know, personally, I have to stop being the “yes man” and consult God before making a decision. My life would be less stressful and more peaceful with God working beside me rather than doing it in my own strength. I have to remember even though I have the skill or talent to do what is asked of me, I need to always have God close to me to make the right decisions at the right time.
Yes, God wants you to use your hands and feet for His kingdom, but you cannot put that much pressure on yourself to please everyone’s needs, even if it is a God-given talent. There is a time and a place for everything (Ecclesiastes 3), and we all have different seasons in our lives. Sometimes God asks you to rest and be in His presence for awhile. Maybe God has asked you to accomplish something through His strength.
We all have to be sensitive to God. We must hear the Father say “go” before jumping prematurely. We must be obedient to His Word and always believe that God knows best!
Faith.Hope.Love 
Reblogged this on Uplifting Quotes and Scriptures and commented:
My New Blog: Filling the Void
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How very true! When we think first about pleasing people — even if we would be doing a worthwhile thing — we aren’t necessarily doing what God would have us do. I think many Christians feel that if they don’t say yes to every potential opportunity to use their gifts and talents, that somehow they may miss a chance to do something special or important for the Kingdom. The fact is that there are many, many of us, with many, many talents and skills and abilities, and God wants to use all of us…not just a few of us all the time. There’s nothing at all wrong with saying no, especially if we feel deep down it’s just not the right timing, circumstance, or place for us.
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Exactly! I am so bad about wanting to please people over what is best for me and what God is saying to me to do. It is always hard to say no to someone that means well, but I love what you wrote about letting others have a chance to use their talents. It’s all about building God’s kingdom together. There is no “I” in “WE”. We all come together to grow in Christ and use our talents in God’s timing.
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So true! People-pleasing has been one of my downfalls also. The book BOUNDARIES by Henry Cloud and John Townsend has a good perspective on saying no nicely when that’s what is best.
I’m glad God is continuing to work in all of us so we bring HIM glory.
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