cannyben

Can a mother forget her little child and not have love for her own son? Yet even if that should be, I will not forget you. See, I have tattooed your name upon my palm.” Isaiah 49:15-16 (TLB) When you find yourself stuck in a cycle of overworking, you need to remember your value to God. This is the exact opposite of basing your worth on your work, your career, or your full-time role. It is countercultural and may require a major change in your thinking, especially if a little voice in your head keeps saying, “You’ve got to prove you matter.” One of the reasons people can’t relax is that they confuse their work and their worth. They confuse their net worth with their self-worth. They think, “If I work really hard and succeed at work, then I am valuable. If I’m not productive, then I’m not valuable.” That’s a lie! But in Western culture, our identity often revolves around our work, so we overwork in an attempt to prove ourselves. We believe that if we achieve a lot, then we must be worth ...

“Work and get everything done during six days each week, but the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the Lord your God.” Exodus 20:9-10 (NCV) In the Bible, a day of rest is called Sabbath. It’s when you take a day off from work—not just from your job but from any kind of work. God didn’t make the Sabbath for his benefit. He made it for yours: “The Sabbath was made to benefit man, and not man to benefit the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27 TLB). God made the Sabbath so you wouldn’t get burned out. But many people ignore their need for the Sabbath. When you ignore God’s laws, who gets hurt? Not God. Ignoring your need for rest only leaves you exhausted and overwhelmed. Taking a Sabbath may be particularly difficult if you’re an entrepreneur, self-employed, or work remotely. If you don’t schedule a Sabbath for yourself, you’ll never take a break. No matter your work situation, it doesn’t matter what day of the week you take your Sabbath. It’s just important that you do take one! Just like you schedu...

Icertainly believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:13-14 (NASB) God has only good plans for your life. He never has, and he never will have bad plans for you. Yet, many people miss God’s plan for their lives because they don’t trust God. Instead, they decide to follow their own plan, which leads to hopelessness and pessimism in the end. The more you understand God’s goodness, the more hopeful you’ll be—because hope is anticipating God’s goodness. The only reason you have real hope is because God is good; without God’s goodness, there’s no rational reason for hope. King David said in Psalm 27:13-14, “I certainly believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord” (NASB). Everything God does for you, through you, to you, and in you is because he...

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” Matthew 6:25 (NIV) God is the source of everything you need to live. He is the Good Shepherd who feeds you, leads you, and meets your needs. You don’t have to look anywhere else. You don’t have to look to Wall Street. You don’t have to look to the government. You don’t have to look to your spouse, your retirement account, or your job. If you’re going to put your security in something, you need to put it in something that can never be taken from you. You can lose your health. You can lose your job. You can lose your good looks. You can lose your family. You can lose your life. You can lose your mind. You can even lose your way. But God is never lost. And there is nothing you need that God can’t supply. Philippians 4:19 says, “God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus...

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV) When you are worried, don’t repress it, suppress it, or deny it. Instead, confess it. Talk to God about it. If you try to push down worries, you’re going to get sick. It’s like shaking a can of soda, and then putting it in the freezer. It’s going to explode! What is the peace that passes understanding? It’s when you’re at peace but you have no logical, rational reason for it. You just lost your job, but somehow you’re at peace about it. Why? The Lord is your Shepherd. Or you just heard the dreaded word “cancer” from the doctor. For some reason, you have peace about the situation. Why? The Lord is your Shepherd. Peace that passes understanding doesn’t mean you’re not sad or frustrated or confused. It means that you t...

“Don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34 (NCV) There are two days you should never worry about: yesterday and tomorrow. Jesus said, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34 NCV). You can’t live in the past. You can’t live in the future. You can only live today. Why should you only live one day at a time? First, when you worry about tomorrow’s problems, you miss the blessings of today. Second, you cannot solve tomorrow’s problems with today’s power. When tomorrow arrives, God will give you the power, perspective, grace, and wisdom you need. Matthew 6:30 says, “If God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you?” (TLB) When you worry, you assume responsibility that God never intended for you to have. You may be worrying today about a lot of things that are ...

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) It takes more than willpower to stop worrying—but you already know that, because you’ve already tried it. You’ve thought, “I shouldn’t worry about this,” yet it stays on your mind. Here are four steps to help you stop worrying: Get to know God. Jesus says in Matthew 6:32, “People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things” (The Message). If you don’t have a relationship with God, you have every reason to worry. That’s why you need to get to know God! As a believer, you have a heavenly Father who has promised to take care of you. You are God’s child, and children get special privileges. When you worry, you are acting like you don’t have a loving Father who is with you and for you. Put God first in every area of your life. Matthew 6:31-33 says, “Don’t worry at all about having enough food and clothing . . . your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well that you need them, and he ...

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.” Psalm 23:2 (NIV) Are you always in a hurry? Is your to-do list unrealistically long? Has more than one person ever told you to slow down? Do you feel guilty when you relax? Do you have to get sick to take time off? The pace of modern society pushes us to keep going and going and going. Many people work even on their day off. And those who go to a church service often head home afterward only to dive right into work (whether it’s housework, schoolwork, or career work), trying to do all the stuff they didn’t accomplish during the regular workweek. No wonder we’re exhausted! Most of us are maxed out. But that’s not the way of the Good Shepherd. Psalm 23:2 says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters” (NIV). God makes you lie down in green pastures—that’s rest. And he leads you beside quiet waters—that’s refreshment. God, in his goodness, created rest, and he considers it as importan...

“It is senseless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, fearing you will starve to death; for God wants his loved ones to get their proper rest.” Psalm 127:2 (TLB) The Bible says in Psalm 127:2: “It is senseless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, fearing you will starve to death; for God wants his loved ones to get their proper rest” (TLB). God doesn’t want you to accomplish everything all at once. He wants you to learn to pace yourself as he uses the circumstances of your life to help you mature little by little. While God is growing your business, he’s growing you. While God is growing your children, he’s growing you. While God is growing your career, he’s growing you. For you to grow, you have to learn to rest in God’s goodness. Some people think God only smiles on them when they’re working, praying, or doing “spiritual” things. But God also smiles on you when you rest. If you’re a parent, and you’ve ever gone in your kids’ room ...