The Purpose of Life is NOT Getting Things Done

I have a lot of dreams. I also have a lot of desires. In fact, my heart is so FULL of longing and desire that it often overwhelms me. I accumulate lists upon lists of all the glorious projects I want to embark on--recipes to try, paintings to paint, books to write, crafts to build or sew...you get the picture.

But because of the reality of limited time, I usually end up standing in front of those lists and feeling condemned by them. I hear my ever-present accuser whisper, "Look at all these thing you still have to do, Emily. You're never going to get all this done. You're not doing a good enough job." 

Satan WOULD turn something like a dream or desire into a source of guilt and shame, wouldn't he?

And those aren't even the "more necessary" to-do list items...

It was into this storm of guilt and fear over how "good of a job" I was doing that Jesus spoke:

We have TIME, Emily. 


There is NO NEED to rush...we have all of forever to make our dreams come true. So don't worry about making everything happen now, or if things you want to see happen aren't happening. They will all happen in time. 

This day is not about getting things done. There's no rush. Today is about learning how to follow me, how to be with me. Let me love you.

Life is NOT primarily about getting things done. You're here primarily to learn how to be with me.

God created us to be with him. He placed us here on earth so that we can connect with him and enjoy his presence. He invites us to do things not so that we can earn his love or be productive and therefore worthy. Rather, he invites us to do things (jobs, ministry) SO THAT WE CAN LEARN TO BE CLOSER WITH HIM.

He doesn't say, "Do this ministry and make yourself useful!" He entreats, "Come, beloved child. Come join my work and learn my ways. Come, do new things with me and you'll see new sides of my love for you."

The purpose of life is NOT getting things done.

The purpose of life is LEARNING HOW TO BE WITH GOD.

You have all of eternity to do things with God if you learn how to be with him.

This means (for me at least), that all the wonderful and overwhelmingly numerous dreams I have don't have to loom over my head like a giant to do list. So what if I don't have a chance to write that book, or do that painting? I have all of eternity to write and paint and dance and play with God...so I don't worry.

Of course, the flipside is to make sure to pay attention to the dreams that God specifically places on your heart...because those are the places he's calling you in this life in order to teach you how to know him, how to be with him, in preparation for your eternal life together.

Finding God's Will

My sister, Meg, spoke some serious truth when she said:

"God's will for you is to follow him and obey him."

That's it.

So that means that no matter where you are, you can be in God's will.

It's not so much about finding out every detail of his plan for your life as much as it's about learning to be with him, to connect with him in every moment. You worry about that, and HE will worry about the plans and the path.

As Pamela Marhad put it in her excellent book, "Find God and you will find his will."

Throw off the Yoke of Slavery!

After putting it off for a good hour, I finally sat down for my morning time with Jesus. On my way to sit down, before I even hit the bed, He says to me:

You've already started your day with a sense of guilt, shame and fear.

Me: What? Oh my gosh, you're right, Jesus! 

Even before I got out of bed today, I felt guilty for being such a mess. That's why I kept hitting the snooze button. On my way to the kitchen, I passed the candy bowl and all the the times I've overindulged on sweets, stayed up too late, didn't work hard, and wasted time came flooding back into my memory. The pang of accusation quickly turned into a value judgment on myself--I'm a bad person. I have to work extra hard today, do an extra good job, in order to make up for all the mistakes of the last few days. I felt handicapped by my past failures.

What's going on?

Jesus: "You have an accuser."

Oh yeah! How could I forget? Satan's name means "accuser of the brethren". It's what he does best.

I look up and see the hand-made poster on the wall across from me. It reads:

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." - Galations 5:1

Jesus: Emily, I have SET YOU FREE from all the guilt of your past sins! You can look back at all those mistakes you made and not be ashamed, because I have given you MY righteousness.

What is this passage telling me? Three things:

1) Someone is actively trying to burden me again. My enemy is walking around with his yoke of guilt and shame, and trying to slip it on my neck whenever he can.

2) Simply existing will not protect me from him. I must STAND FIRM--make an active effort to push away that yoke from my neck!

3) Slavery is more than a burden...the Bible calls it a "yoke" for a reason. A yoke is something you pull on at someone else's command, in the direction they tell you to go. Jesus says his yoke is easy and his burden is light. But the yoke of slavery is a heavy burden of guilt and shame, and when I allow the enemy to slip it over my shoulders, I start pulling in the direction he wants me to go. I start trying to prove my worth, earn God's love, and do things to "make up for" my sin. He wants to keep me focused on being perfect instead of pulling on Christ's yoke. The enemy loves to take us out of the game!

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Oooh, the enemy is crafty! He stands over me in my bed and throws his yoke on me the moment I awake. Then he slinks under the bed and quietly whispers, "This is normal. What you're feeling isn't out of the ordinary at all. Just get up and go about your business."

Obedience to Jesus pleases him, and He's commanded us to stand firm and to not let ourselves be yoked by the enemy. So when we throw Satan's yoke off our shoulders and REFUSE to listen to the voice of guilt and shame, Jesus is pleased with us!

Jesus: Yes! Well done, daughter! Good job! I'm so proud of you! You obeyed my word--you stood firm. NOW you're back in the game. I can't wait for today. I have so much planned for us!

Me: Let's do this! I can't wait for today either. Thank you so much, Jesus.

The One Thing You Need To Know

From Jesus to you:

I love you.


I love you.


I love you.


I love you.


Stop skimming through this. There is nothing more important for you to do than listen to this, right now. So slow down, look me in the eye...and receive this:


I love you.


I love you.

I love YOU.

I LOVE you.


I really, actually LOVE YOU.




I love you, my precious child.

Not knowing what you're doing is OK

Thinking about my future, I've been frustrated by the fact that I don't know how to live yet. I don't know where I'm going, and I definitely can't seem to do a good job of getting there. I often feel as if I should know all the answers...and that it's bad if I don't.

This vision was Jesus' response:

_________________________

There is a huge chasm. It’s deep and wide, and very dark. It seems to go down forever. High above, there is a slender bridge formed of stepping stones that seem to just float in the air, stretching their precarious way across the gaping crevasse. A figure crouches on one of the stones—me.

The picture zooms in, now I’m looking at my feet. I see the stone I’m standing on start to crumble beneath me. Little bits of rock break off and disappear into the oblivion below me.

I’m agitated, frustrated—even angry. I hear myself mutter, “WHY can’t I do this right? ARGH!” I’m angry at myself for not knowing how to do this, for taking missteps, for being so slow at crossing this bridge. My eyes seem glued to my feet, watching them scrabble around on the rock below me, like blind mice trying to find their way home.

Then a hand appears in front of me. I look up, and there on the next stepping stone stands Jesus. He’s not really standing, though—he seems to be floating just above the rocks. Even then, it’s hard to look at his feet, because his face is so captivating. He holds out both hands towards me. I glance behind him and catch my breath—on the other side of the chasm lies a breathtaking field of colorful wildflowers and butterflies, sparkling in the sunlight and seeming to go on endlessly in all directions. It looks like a scene from heaven come to earth. To say that I want to go there is...an understatement.

Jesus speaks: “Let me lead you.” I put both my hands into his, and suddenly we’re moving. We’re practically flying towards the meadow, with the stepping stones whizzing by beneath us. Jesus stays facing me, holding my gaze. He’s smiling, and seeing him before me fills me with an incredible sense of peace. I know that as long as I look at his face and hold his hands tightly, we’ll get where we’re going.

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No, he didn't answer my questions about the future, or about how to manage my time and money in the present. But He DID show me exactly how I need to live this day.

The moment I look down again and start focusing on what a bad job I’m doing at this whole bridge-crossing business, I grind to a halt and get consumed by my fear and shame. But as long as I let my hands rest in his and keep my gaze fixed on him, Jesus will safely bring me to the other side...regardless of whether or not I know what I'm doing.