You’ve been busy, and everything is piling up. Things are overdue, there’s a list of things that need to be done, your phone is blowing up, you have three different people you’ve promised three different things to, and it seems that time is ticking by at the speed of light and wasting away. You don’t think you can do it all. You think you might break.
If you are anything like me, this happens quite often. You spread yourself too thin and then find yourself doing way more than any one person should do. At first you are okay; you think you can do it all. Next thing you know you are freaking out and are two seconds away from mentally checking out for the day.
Living as a Christian in this world, you are called to serve and put others before yourself."Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had." Philippians 2:3-5This verse is just one example of many that call Christians into action to put themselves second and others first. I've always taken that as a given, that in the order of who comes last it's supposed to be me. This isn't to say I'm good at this task; I can actually be very selfish, but I do often become consumed by the need to please others and make sure that they are doing okay. I become so consumed that occasionally I lose sight of the fact that sometimes I'm not okay. I am not the only one who struggles with this, though.
"But despite Jesus' instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer." Luke 5:15-16
In the midst of serving others, even Jesus had to take a moment for himself. The fact of the matter is, you can't do it all, and you aren't called to do it all. You are a tool that Jesus is using to reach more of his people, and even the most powerful and heavy duty tool can't be used 24/7 without destructive results. In the middle of trying to do it all, you will begin to lose yourself, and Jesus loves us so much that there is no possible way that he could ever want that to happen. You can't serve others when you aren't taking care of yourself first.
God doesn't call his people to serve others so that they will forget about themselves and their own needs. It's important to remember that you can still be a good Christian and take care of yourself at the same time, even if it means not always putting others before yourself.
