Just Enough Time to Do God’s Will

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Building My Life on Values That Last

Just Enough Time to Do God’s Will By Rick Warren — Nov 28, 2015 “All of us should … enjoy what we have worked for. It is God’s gift.” (Ecclesiastes 3:13 GNT) In a 21st century world where we’re overworked, overstressed, and over-scheduled, this may be one of the most significant and freeing sentences you’ll ever read: You have just enough time to do God’s will. That means if you don’t feel you have enough time in your day, one of two things is true. Either: You’re doing things God doesn’t intend for you to do. You’re doing the things God intended the wrong way. God wouldn’t give you a list of things to do and not give you the time to do them. Either you’re trying to do too much or you’re wasting time. There’s really no other option. Either way, you need to learn to enjoy the moment. The Bible says, “All of us should … enjoy what we have worked for. It is God’s gift” (Ecclesiastes 3:13 GNT). Too many of us fall victim to a terrible trap. I call it “when and then” thinking. We believe “when” we achieve a particular goal, we’ll be happy. Maybe that goal is graduation, marriage, or a financial goal. But you won’t be happy then. You’ll enjoy reaching that goal for three seconds, and then you’ll start asking yourself, “What’s next?” The cycle simply repeats. Are you worn out, burnt out, or stressed out? God wants more for you. If you’re carrying an overwhelming load, it isn’t from Jesus. He says in Matthew 11, “Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest …. the load I give you to carry is light” (Matthew 11:28, 30 NCV). Every moment of your life is a gift from God. He doesn’t want you to miss a single one. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over What moments from your past do you regret that your busyness kept you from enjoying? What goals have you achieved in the past that you thought would be satisfying yet they weren’t? How can you change your priorities and your schedule so that you have enough time to do what God wants you to do? ​ Thank Him in Advance Post by Joel Osteen    FacebookTwitterEmailPrintMore   It's interesting to see all of the "thankful" posts at this time of the year. People go out of their way to show their gratitude, and that's good! We should express our thanks and let our loved ones know we appreciate them. We may celebrate Thanksgiving once a year; however, we should live in it 365 days a year. Living with an attitude of thanksgiving begins by what you set your focus on. You can either focus on your problems, or you can focus on your blessings. The question is: do you want more problems, or do you want more blessings? When you are truly living with an attitude of thanksgiving, you don't just thank God for what He did in the past, you aren't just thankful for today, but you also thank Him for what He will do in the future. You are thankful that He will open new doors. You are thankful that He will increase you. You are thankful that He will bring the right people into your life. When we thank God in advance, it's really a declaration of faith. Your thanks is saying, "God, I'm so sure of Your goodness, I'm so sure that You're working in my life that I'm going to thank You right now for what You are going to do tomorrow." Always remember, faith is what pleases God. Faith opens the door for His promises. Faith says "thank you." So thank God for what He has done, and thank Him in advance for what He will do in your future! "O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness endures forever." (1 Chronicles 16:34, AMP)