My Schedule Is a Hot Mess (Part 2)

We're still talking about schedules - this is part two of my schedule is a hot mess. If you missed last week, we laid some groundwork you can catch up on through our website or YouTube channel. But if you constantly feel like you're running behind, never quite finishing your to-do list, with days that hold more frenzy than fulfillment and no room to catch your breath, this message is for you.

Last week we sat with Jesus' invitation:

Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. - Matthew 11:28

That easy yoke and light burden isn't only about religious requirements; it reaches all the way down to how we live, including our schedules. We said that to control our schedule instead of being controlled by it, we need to be realistic about how much we commit to, overestimate how long things take, rank our priorities, and cut ourselves some slack when we don't finish everything - trusting that any day the Lord accomplishes his purposes is a good day. This week, let's go a little deeper.

Even Jesus had routines

One thing that jumped out at me in this study is that Jesus kept routines - regular habits and places - even during the most intense seasons of his ministry. There are little phrases in the Gospels we tend to skip over because they're not the main point of the story, but they're worth noticing. When Jesus went to Nazareth, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath "as was his custom" (Luke 4:16). On the night he was betrayed, he went "as usual" to the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39). Luke tells us he taught at the temple each day and spent the nights on the Mount of Olives, and that he often withdrew to pray:

But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer. - Luke 5:16

So part of Jesus' routine was worship, teaching, and getting away to commune with his Father - and he held to it even in harrowing moments. There are real benefits to this. A Northwestern Medicine piece noted that routines, by providing structure, can lower stress and anxiety, improve our choices around eating and rest, and build the habits that support our health. It's a good reminder that even following the smallest part of Jesus' example does us good - physically, mentally, and spiritually. We need to build routine into our days, weeks, months, and years around the things that matter most.

Rest is one of those things

One of the very first things we see in the Bible is God himself resting after creation. If God values rest, so should we. And when Jesus walked the earth, he advocated rest for himself and his disciples:

Let's go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest a while. - Mark 6:31

The Son of God, living as a man, knew what it was to be drained, tired, even burned out. He understood the need to retreat. We see him cross the lake to leave the crowds behind, and withdraw to a solitary place when he heard of John the Baptist's death. He'd pray alone early in the morning or late at night. Jesus understood that we have to recharge. We know this instinctively about our devices - run the battery down and the thing won't work until it's charged again - and we're no different. A lot of us don't get the rest we need, sometimes because we've overbooked ourselves, and sometimes because of the season we're in: new parents, finals week, caring for ailing family. Those should be seasons, not a permanent way of life, because a lack of rest eventually catches up with you.

Don't feel guilty about resting

Does anyone here not rest because they feel guilty about it? You finally lounge on the couch on a Saturday and your brain starts running scripts: the grass needs mowing, the kitchen needs cleaning, you really don't want to tell people on Monday that you just relaxed. Those anxious little voices push us to burn the candle at both ends - and we pay for it. Our health suffers, our relationships suffer because we're too depleted to show up well, and even our work suffers from diminishing returns. That's why I think we have to actually schedule rest and retreat. Remember what Jesus told the Pharisees when they accused him of breaking the Sabbath:

The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. - Mark 2:27

Rest was never meant to be a burden - it was meant to ease our burdens. Try to mark off at least one day a week to recharge.

Maybe your guilt comes from a different place - maybe, like me, you're a people-pleaser with the disease to please. It's wonderful to want to help and to have a sense of duty. But no matter how willing the heart is to take on one more thing, the body and mind have limits, and the people who truly care about you will understand that you need rest. Some of us just don't know how to say no. So here are a few gracious ways to decline while leaving the door open: "Right now I need to prioritize something else, but if anything changes I'll let you know." "My plate is at capacity at the moment." "I'm unavailable then; my next availability is …" And if rest is what's on your schedule, that counts as a priority - you don't owe anyone a detailed explanation.

You were never meant to do it alone

That last phrase - "I'm not able to help, but this person might" - leads to the next idea: we need reinforcements. Western culture prizes the "I'll do it myself" mentality; we almost take pride in what we accomplished alone, even when it wrecked us in the process. I don't think that's what God intended. We're meant to share the load and carry one another's burdens.

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. - Ecclesiastes 4:9

A person alone can be overcome, but two can stand back to back - and a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. Think about how many people Jesus kept close: twelve disciples he was building into and who carried part of the load. When he sent them out on a ministry tour, do you think they experienced it as a burden? No - they came back thrilled to report all they'd done. When we ask for help, it blesses us, and it blesses the people we ask, giving them a chance to use their gifts and let God work through them.

There's a story I love in Exodus 18. Moses - an icon of leadership, chosen by God - sat from morning till evening settling every dispute among the people himself. His father-in-law Jethro watched and asked the question that cuts right to it:

What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone? - Exodus 18:14

Jethro told him plainly that the job was too heavy to carry alone, and advised him to appoint capable, honest leaders to handle the smaller matters and bring only the major cases to him. Moses took the advice, and it worked. That question is one we should learn to ask ourselves when our schedules become a hot mess from trying to do too much alone. And the honest answers can be uncomfortable: pride; I want to prove something; I don't want to be a burden; I'm afraid people won't value me enough to help. Most of the time, that last fear isn't true - friends will gladly ease your burdens when they can. And we have a whole Acts 2 church full of people looking for ways to serve.

Leave room to bless others

Which brings up one more thing worth scheduling: openings to help other people.

Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. - Philippians 2:4

So a question: do our schedules show that we only look out for ourselves, or that we make room for others?

Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone - especially to those in the family of faith. - Galatians 6:10

Are we leaving ourselves opportunities to do good, or are we too booked up to love and help people? Last week we said our number-one priority should be loving God and loving people - and often we love God by loving people. If you find your days have no room for those divine appointments, it may be time to look at your schedule. And here's the freeing part: probably 80% of what's on our schedules, we have the freedom to rearrange.

Hold your schedule loosely

Remember that quiet retreat Jesus planned in Mark 6? It didn't happen the way they planned. The crowds ran ahead and were waiting when the boat landed - and instead of guarding his rest, Jesus had compassion on them, rearranged the plan, and taught them, which led right into the feeding of the five thousand. If we treat our schedules as rigid and unchangeable, we'll miss the opportunities that show up - the chances for God to work. Rigid schedules tend to break us; flexible ones bend.

I think of it like a game of Tetris. If we're immovable and just stack task on task in the order they arrive, we get less done and grow frustrated fast. But if we can slide the pieces around - "the rest I wanted here fits better there; I'm tapped out for this project, so I'll move it; an unexpected chance to bless someone just came up, so my own errand can wait" - we'll be healthier for it, and our schedules will look a lot less like a hot mess.

A few verses to carry with you

Whether you're writing your schedule up, ripping it up, or drowning under it, hold onto a couple of ideas. David prayed:

Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be... my only hope is in you. - Psalm 39:4-7

Life is short and circumstances are always shifting, but the Lord's goodness is constant. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes adds that God has made everything beautiful in its time, and that there's nothing better than to enjoy the simple gifts of eating, drinking, and the fruits of our labor. If we're never enjoying those things, our schedule - or our perspective on it - needs some work. And James reminds us how little we control:

Your life is like the morning fog - it's here a little while, then it's gone. - James 4:14

So we submit our plans to the Lord, knowing his purpose will prevail and he'll direct our steps. When the schedule overwhelms us, we're always better off taking it one day at a time:

So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. - Matthew 6:34

Whatever today holds, there's still good in it if we look - and when we open our eyes tomorrow, his mercies will be new again, as they are every morning. The best way to handle whatever comes is to take God with us wherever we go. Jesus promised his Holy Spirit to everyone who trusts him - a Helper who leads and guides us through each day.

The plan God has for you

God does have abundant life planned for us, and eternal life too. We were separated from a holy God by our sin, but he loved us so much that he sent his only Son to pay the price on the cross, taking the sins of the world - past, present, and future - upon himself. Three days later Jesus rose, showing his power over death, so that when he says he's preparing a place for us, we can believe it completely.

If you've never accepted those gifts and made Jesus the Lord of your life, you can pray a prayer like this:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner. I know I've done wrong things. Please forgive me of my sins. Right now I ask you to be the Lord of my life. Help me to turn from my sins and follow you. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins, for rising again on the third day and taking those sins away, for saving me, and for preparing a place for me. In Jesus' name, amen.

If you prayed that prayer, I'd love to celebrate with you - it's the best decision you'll ever make. Come see me after a service, or email me at josh@seacoastredondo.com.

At the table together

It's the first Sunday of the month - one of the routines we keep is celebrating communion as a church family, because it's something Jesus asked his followers to do:

This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. - 1 Corinthians 11:24

Communion is a time to remember Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection, and also to examine our hearts and hand over any unconfessed sin. All who have put their faith and trust in Jesus are welcome to take the elements. The worship team is going to lead us in "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)," and then we'll pray and take the elements together.

Thanks for being with us. I hope you have a safe and wonderful Fourth of July - in every part of your schedule. God bless you.