You are ONE person

The best advice I ever received was from a college professor. I was deep in the chaos of Sophomore year. I was an RA in my dorm, a straight-A engineering major taking 18 credits each semester, working 2 jobs, and was still trying to keep up with my health and friendships by working out, eating well, staying in the Bible, and scheduling coffee with my friends.

She said, "Ellie, you are ONE person. You can't try to do the work of more than one person." Her point was that there was no way I could give my all to my school work while also trying to keep up with all these other areas of my life. Something was going to have to give.

You may be tempted to think I'm bragging here about all I was able to get done. But far from it. I share this because I failed miserably to do all of these things at once. When I was doing great in my school work, I found myself isolating from others and I was completely unavailable to my residents. When I was connected with my friends, I started cutting corners with my homework to get outside and throw a frisbee. I couldn't succeed in all areas of my life while still maintaining integrity in my work and love for those around me.

I'm reading You're Only Human by Kelly M. Kapic and I want to share what I'm learning here. My hope is that it will help others to understand that we are limited human beings and we were never ever meant to do everything from our own strength.

I couldn't succeed in all areas of my life while still maintaining integrity in my work and love for those around me.

Today we're going to go over my 3 biggest takeaways from what God's been working on in my heart and how that applies to all of our lives.

1. Busyness does not equal value

2. God created us with limits - and that is good

3. Sometimes God gives us more than we can handle

Busyness does not Equal Value

How many of you were tempted to start comparing your own schedule to my college responsibilities listed above? I get it! I've been there too. In college there was a girl a year ahead of me who did all of the things that I did, plus she was a student athlete. And what's more, she seemed to have it all together.

But we don't see what's going on underneath. God did not call us all to do the same things, he called us to be who he created us to be. When we compare anything with other people, it breeds discontentment in how God made you.

We're tempted to think that our worth is in how much of a good thing we can do. But I think back to the Old Testament law of the Sabbath. Think about it seriously:

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates.

Exodus 20:8-10

Be honest. Could you follow that law with the way you're living your life right now? I often see the weekend as my chance to catch up on chores and get the house back in order. Is it really possible with the lifestyle you're living right now to take a day completely off every week? Even though we are not required to observe the Sabbath now under Jesus, it's still worth considering. God rested from all of his work on the 7th day and then told the Israelites to do the same. It's almost unthinkable in this society to do nothing, but God clearly values the importance of rest and connection with Him.

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:40-42

I'm sure we've all heard this passage preached on and been told that Martha was wrong and Mary was right. See here what Jesus is saying though, it's not wrong to work. It's good to do what needs to be done, but Mary chose what is "better." Communion with God is absolutely necessary to our Christian walk. If we only have time for a quick devotional in the morning and are glancing at our watch through an entire Sunday sermon, we won't have that deep connection that will fill our souls and connect us to our creator. That requires knowing our limits and letting go of whatever needs to give.

God Created us With Limits - and That is Good

Our limits are not a result of the Fall. We were created with limits built in just by the nature of the fact that we are creatures. No creature can be infinite in power and ability. Now, after the Fall, even the span of our lives are limited and there is more pain in our labor, but God never created us to know it all, do it all, and be all that we want to be. He created you to be you and that is it.

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

James 4:14-15

I tend to be a planner. I like to know where I'm going, what I'm doing, and why I'm doing. While it is great to have missions and values that drive us forward, it's imperative that we also remember that God has the ultimate say in everything and His will always prevails. Because of that fact, we can find comfort that we aren't going to mess up His sovereign plan. We may also be convicted knowing that our plans are not perfect, no matter how perfect they may seem to us.

Rather than seeing our weaknesses as failures, we can remember that God designed them in us for a purpose - so that we may depend more on Him! That brings us to the 3rd point.

Sometimes God Gives Us More Than We Can Handle

Sometimes, despite our best efforts to schedule in only as much as we can handle, despite setting up plans and boundaries to get rest, God still gives us challenges that seem way too big for us to handle. The crazy thing is, they are too big for us! That is by design.

Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

We don't know exactly what Paul's "thorn in the flesh" was, but I'm sure we can all relate to having things in our lives that humble us and remind us just how human we are. Just today my right shoulder locked up, preventing me from being able to do much of anything on my own. I had to take the day off of work because I can't even use a computer mouse. Immediately I was so mad at myself and my body for forcing me to stop. Then I remembered it is often in seasons of extreme stress and busyness that God allows things like sickness and injury to force me to get rest and rely on Him.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

Apart from Him we can do nothing. How humbling is that. He gave us the air we breathe, the legs we use to walk around, the hands (and shoulders) we use to do everyday tasks, and the brains to plan our lives and accomplish many tasks. God made it all and he sustains it all. It is a grace that we get to continue living today. Let's not fall into the trap of believing we are doing any of it in our own strength. Let's start relying on God to get us through the "manageable" things so that when the storms come, we know where to get all of the strength we need to endure. Cling to the vine today and remember that you are only one person and you were never meant to be anything more.