9.03.2014

Do The Next Thing

Last night was a restless one for me.

Turning in for the night at the usual time I found that I just couldn't settle in. Since I can usually fall asleep in minutes, I knew something was amiss. There was this obnoxious uneasiness in the pit of my stomach - the kind that is almost always indicative of my not being right in my relationship with the Lord.



As I sat down in my comfy chair hoping to drift off listening to the heavy rain, I began talking.

I talked for hours to Jesus and realized it's been so very long since I've made time for that. I also realized (much later) that I did not once ask Him to talk. It was all me, me, me. My woes, my worries, my demands, my hopes, my pleas to make things easier.

Every so often, I'd pause for a second and wonder why the uneasiness wasn't gone. I was praying, wasn't I? And at around 2AM, in one of those brief pauses, this verse came to mind:

Speak, Lord, for your servant hears. {1 Samuel 3:9}

I'd done so much talking to Jesus and not given any thought to letting Him speak to me through His Word and in the quietness of my heart.

Speak, Lord.

Are you sure?

Yes! I want to hear from You, please!

Are you willing to change when you hear what I have to say?

*pause* ...yes?

At this, I started talking again. Bemoaning all the ways I've been coming up short. Lord, look, I'm trying to juggle all of these things and I have no time for You lately and Will & I both agree that I'm sometimes a wretched example of a wife and a lazy mom and I'm not pointing anyone to You if I can't even point Will or the girls to You. I can't manage a home well; I'm a selfish friend...

Lisha?

...sorry, Jesus.

Do what I ask you to do day by day with excellence in that moment. [Colossians 3:23] Ask me each morning to show you what I have for you in that day [Psalm 5:3] - and then do not worry about anything else [Philippians 4:6-7]. When you finish doing something, ask Me what the next thing is. Just do the next thing, whatever it is, for My glory. You do not need to hold everything together - that's My responsibility [Hebrews 1:3]. You just need to set your heart to listen to My voice and choose to live as I called you [John 10:27].

...and if you find you have no time for Me, it's because you are not making time for Me. You make time for those things that are a priority. You need to make time. It's hard to follow Me when you are distracted by so many other things. [Luke 9:57-62]. 

Oh, Lord. You are right.

That deep-down uneasiness, I noticed, was gone.

For the next three hours I got some of the sweetest, most restful sleep I've had in months. And when I woke up this morning, Jesus reminded me right away:

Lisha, for today, just do the next thing that I have for you, with Me always in mind. Let go of every other care. If I bring something to mind, pray and do what you can in that moment. Leave the rest to Me.

Today, the "next thing" might be:
-snuggling one of my girls
-chatting on the phone with a friend in need
-going in early to work to be a blessing to the manager
-supporting Will in a big decision, even if it's not my first choice because I choose to trust
-that mountain of laundry
-tea time
-stopping everything to pray
-one of 1,000,000 other things that Jesus brings into my day.

None of them is without purpose and none are inconsequential, because the total sovereignty of God is not inconsequential and He orchestrated every circumstance of my life for a purpose - to know Him more and to make much of Him!

Friend, if there is an unsettled feeling in your soul, please make the time to sit and ask the Lord to speak. and then listen. He knows your heart and your life better than you do and He desires that you live abundantly in Him so that others can see His love.

Doing the next thing,
for His glory!
~Lisha

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5 comments:

  1. Amen, Lisha!! Beautiful words and so steeped in scripture. I think it was Elisabeth Elliot who always said to simply do the next thing. Such wisdom!

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    1. You know, not long after I had posted this, I came across that quote and it only confirmed what God had been doing in my heart.

      Thanks, Gabby <3

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  2. Love this post! Thanks for sharing :)

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  3. This is something that's been on my mind a lot lately too. I always try to ask "What do I need to do today?" Asking is easy, obeying is sometimes hard!

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