How do you get so much done?
Sometimes my friends and coworkers ask me how I accomplish so much. So I just want to write my testimony here. The simple answer is, “God blesses me!”
Now before you think that I believe if you are a Christian you'll have a perfect blessing-filled life, let me clarify! I don't believe that if you trust in God you'll have a new car, a great job, and all the material blessings of this world. Jesus said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” I know that God has certainly allowed trials in my life to teach me lessons and polish me for His use. See Malachi 3:2, Isaiah 64:8, Isaiah 45:9, and Jeremiah 18:6.
On the other hand, I believe that when you obey God, He can do great things in your life. “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 28:1–2. Based on this, I believe there are three major factors that affect God's blessings in my life.
1. Living in Surrender
The first is foremost and overarching. Daily I surrender my life and plans to Jesus Christ. “Be not therefore anxious for the morrow… Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6:34, R.V.
The following words, inspired around 100 years ago, encourage me to daily take all my plans, challenges, and requests to my Heavenly Father:
“If you have given yourself to God, to do His work, you have no need to be anxious for tomorrow. He whose servant you are knows the end from the beginning. The events of tomorrow, which are hidden from your view, are open to the eyes of Him who is omnipotent. When we take into our hands the management of things with which we have to do, and depend upon our own wisdom for success, we are taking a burden which God has not given us, and are trying to bear it without His aid… when we really believe that God loves us and means to do us good we shall cease to worry about the future. We shall trust God as a child trusts a loving parent… Christ has given us no promise of help in bearing today the burdens of tomorrow. He has said, “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Corinthians 12:9); but, like the manna given in the wilderness, His grace is bestowed daily, for the day's need.” — Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings, p. 100–101
Other books that help me live in daily surrender are Steps to Christ and The Purpose Driven Life, as well as regular Bible reading.
Keeping the Sabbath
I've written about this already in “The Sabbath Is Rest.” When you take a full 24 hours to stop working — any kind of work — every week, on the day that God commanded (Exodus 20:8–11), God can bless you and your work in ways that are not possible otherwise.
The Sabbath brings balance and rest to my life. Without it I'd be working too much for sure! Taking time to stop and reflect is crucial in our high-tech, frenetic society. Sabbath gives me time to think about my life, ask God for forgiveness for my sins, and listen to Him better because the cares of the world aren't pressing in.
Following God's Lifestyle Blueprint
Finally, when you follow God's design for healthful living — drinking lots of water, avoiding alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco, getting exercise, eating vegetarian, and getting enough sleep — the body and brain work better! Certainly I'm not perfect in this area, but I'm always growing and improving the ways I take care of my body, because God asks us to.
1 Corinthians 6:19–20: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
1 Corinthians 10:31: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
We have stories in the Bible of people who were faithful to God in trying circumstances, such as Joseph and Daniel. I want to follow God with that type of commitment for my whole life. Don't you?
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