Getting Caught Up with All You Need to Do

Feel like you can never get caught up on all that you need to do in life? I’m right there with you.

When I think about the responsibilities and tasks required for my job, I’m faced with a seemingly never-ending to-do list. I can work as hard as possible every day, but I’ll never get completely caught up.
The same goes with my responsibilities and chores at home. Just when I think my house is clean and I’m caught up with laundry and dishes, someone makes a meal or changes their clothing, and my work cycle begins all over again.
Adding my husband and children to the picture only drives home the fact that I’m never finished pouring into them and investing in our relationships.

If I focus on these continual demands (and many days I do), pressure begins to build and I start to tense up, feeling the strain of not being able to complete everything.

But isn’t this self-inflicted stress just a reminder of who I’m trusting in?

When we only consider what we can personally do, we focus on ourselves and our own strength. We remove God from the equation and zero in on our own shortcomings. We don’t have enough time or energy or patience or ability to do everything.

And what does Psalm 127:1 reveal about this tension? “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” All that anxious toil of ours is completely in vain.

A better approach

Instead of focusing on what we know we can’t do, we need to prayerfully take those feelings to the Lord. We may not be able to do the work, but God can do what he needs to do.

Unless He builds our marriages, then our humble, flawed efforts can only go so far.
Unless He builds our parenting, we will fail.
Unless He’s the one who builds our careers or ministries, the work we attempt is in vain.
And unless He builds our homes and multiplies our time, energy, and ideas so we can care for them day by day, we’ll drown in overwhelm all the time.

It’s amazing to experience the freedom that comes from trusting the Lord to build something worthwhile in our homes and lives.

Doing His work

As we choose to trust Him, we still have work to do, but it’s His work to do. Instead of focusing on working out our solutions, we get to work out His solutions and watch how He works everything together.

You and I don’t have to feel the entire weight of all the unfinished work pile up on our shoulders. We can hand over the cares and concerns of our homes and relationships and jobs to our heavenly Father and watch how He will work everything out.

What cares are weighing you down today? What do you feel like you need to do right now to try to get caught up in an area of life?

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Hilary

Hilary Bernstein is a Christ follower, wife, homeschooling mama, and writer who helps women experience God's perfect peace in messy, imperfect life. She's happiest when she's hosting friends and family for dinner, going on date nights with her husband, singing along to the radio, traveling with her family, and spending cozy nights at home. The author of fifteen books,Hilary also is Women's Ministry Director at The Chapel in Green, Ohio.