How frantic is your life? How much pressure do you feel to get things done? Do you ever feel you are not doing anything well because you can’t devote enough of yourself to any one thing?
I find myself there much of the time. And, I am sure, most of that pressure is self-imposed.
But I ran across this quote from Thomas Merton yesterday that has had me thinking. He said,
Unnatural, frantic, anxious work, work done under pressure of greed or fear or any other inordinate passion, cannot properly speaking be dedicated to God, because God never wills such work directly.
What I take from that is the idea that God intends for us to be productive and to work. We were created to be fruitful and satisfied in our efforts. But God never intended for us to take on so much that we cannot be effective in anything. We were not created to live under that stress and pressure – and further, that pressure is not from God but from other sources.
So today, regardless of how long your To Do list may be, ask God these two questions, “What do YOU want me to accomplish today? Where do YOU want me to focus my attention?”
Give it a try and see what God does in and through you.
I’d love to hear about your results.
Be blessed.
Clay in the Hands 
good word…see, I really do read them
Brian,
Great post today. I have seen this thought emphasized in a number of places this week: with our kids, in our men’s Thursday night group, and even personal friends. It is important to realize not only is the pressure not from God, but he explicitly tells us not to worry.
Matthew 6:25 (ESV)
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
Phillipians 4:6 (ESV)
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.