The Tyndale Life Application Bible (NKJV) has a wonderful footnote for Proverbs 16:3 that states: “We must maintain a delicate balance: trust God as if everything depended on Him, while working as if everything depended on us.” (1)
“You may be thinking two distinct courses of action are being advocated. Actually, just the opposite is true. Often the clearest way to determine the path to take is to carefully examine the given set of circumstances. When a situation is emotionally charged, it is usually best to slow down, take it to the Lord in prayer, and wait upon Him. By stilling your spirit, the emotion that oftentimes leads to an inappropriate course of action is given time to cool. Waiting also allows the ‘background noise’ of our thoughts to subside so we may hear God if He chooses to speak. Ultimately, when a situation is so traumatic that the brain is temporarily incapable of formulating an appropriate course of action, it is best to wait upon the Lord.” (2)
Whether you are a person of faith or not, there is an abundance of wisdom in knowing which deliverables you are responsible for and which are to be delegated. Bonus points for knowing when to act and when to wait. As we wrap up our 30 days, I’d venture to guess that the last four weeks have contained multiple opportunities to act and to wait.
Today’s challenge is to rest and do nothing for one evening. “What,” you ask “does that have to do with giving it one last push?” I can hear you additionally say, “Hey, you said five minutes a day, one evening is a whole lot of five minutes.” To answer both inquiries, yes, if you’ve gotten to this point I’ll venture to guess you successfully gave yourself five minutes (or so) each day to self-care. What is self-care without rest?
So for today, go ahead, give it one last go. Give yourself permission to do absolutely nothing that has anything to do with any sort of deliverable including those from the last 30 days. When was the last time you gave yourself permission to do a whole lot of nota? Well, today’s the day, you are done. Congratulations. To celebrate don’t do anything. If you can succeed with this challenge my work is complete.
On behalf of those you serve through your leadership, thank you.
Recent Comments