Psalms - Day 2

Read Psalms 22, 23, 50, and 51

Today's Devotion -- P 23:1-3a

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie
down in green pastures, he leads me beside
quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul. (NIV)

taken from www.biblegateway.com

Have you ever been so busy doing good things for God that you lost sight of your purpose?
There are so many opportunities to help -- childcare, funeral meals, teaching classes, filling communion trays, helping the homeless. If you are not careful, you can become so involved in doing good that you ignore your family, your job, or even your relationship with God.

It makes us feel good when people think enough of us to ask for our help. And, being 'good Christians', it's hard to say no to a heartfelt request. There are times when we help for a short period, and then there are actual ministries we may be called to.

If you find that you are feeling worn out, burned out, and frazzled, maybe it's time to let God restore your soul. Pray about the things you are involved in and work your way out of a few of them. This might require finding someone to train, saying no the next time someone calls you, or cutting back on the time you spend on a particular ministry. Our egos will often tell us that others NEED us to do this work, but in reality God has plenty of workers he can call to fill in if needed! By accepting every opportunity to serve that comes along, you may be taking the opportunity to serve away from someone else.

This doesn't mean that we give up serving all together...but only that we evaluate whether or not the time we are spending is really devoted to God. Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Mk 12:30). The second greatest command is to "Love your neighbor as yourself". (Mk 12:31). Let's make sure we don't lose sight of the greatest commandment while we try to carry out the second greatest! When we are giving all our strength to loving God, we can't help but find appropriate ways to serve others.