Proverbs 31: 22. She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Typically we look at the Proverbs 31 woman and groan because she seems as though she just has it all together and she does so much and she “did”.  You do too, I bet!  You may not feel as though you have it all together, none of us do, but I bet you give a lot of yourself to doing and caring and quite often at the end of the day you are spent to the point where you don’t have the energy to even care about brushing your teeth before you go to bed.  “sigh”  Ladies, that will sooner make you feel as though you don’t have it together than if you were the most unorganized person in the world.

God really convicted me in the middle of the night, the other night when I couldn’t sleep, that I go, go, go and I neglect taking care of myself until the thought of something as simple as brushing my teeth before bed seems like a monumental task!  How ridiculous is that?  Do I feel at the end of the day as though I have it all together and I must be wonder woman?  NO!  I feel like I didn’t get enough done because there’s still more to do tomorrow and oh, my word Janet ~ go brush your teeth, one step at a time…… get it done!  Seriously Girlfriend, do you think it is the will of God for any of us to act like that?  I can tell you first hand He told me, “no”, that isn’t what we are called to do and it needs to stop.  

It is so easy to get caught up in all that needs to be done that we miss out on God’s best, or we work ourselves into being ill.  I watch as some Pastors do the same…… they take on the whole church instead of as Jethro told Moses, “delegate some of this to others while you lead” (Janet Scott Version of the following English Standard Version):

13 The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; 16 when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. 19 Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, 20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. 21 Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”

We need to learn to say “no” when necessary and we need to learn to balance out our day so we are taking care of ourselves.  Taking care of yourself and the things you are actually called to do will make you feel better than taking on the world and it will also make those around you feel better when they realize you believe in them enough to lead them and allow them to help.  If you are a leader or Pastor don’t be afraid to say you are the leader and certainly learn to delegate so you can slow down enough to be fully aware of God’s leading ~ it is possible to get too busy to hear Him, believe me I know!

I would like to encourage each of you today to write down the things you have neglected to do for yourself, make it a goal to start adding those things back into your life.  Make a list of those things you feel you need to accomplish in order to be fulfilling God’s will for your life and then balance out the rest of all that is thrown at you to do by not making hasty decisions and saying “yes” because you feel obligated and taking some time to pray to ask God to help you bring about the balance you need in order to better serve Him!  Start writing out your daily schedule and weed out anything that shouldn’t be there.  Limit your time on social media unless that is what you do for work.  Take charge of your time so it doesn’t run you over.  Ask God to show you what He would have you focus on and by all means Girl, schedule in time to take care of you!

Quote:  “An optimist is someone who believes that a housefly is looking for a way to get out.”  George Gene Nathan