MARGIN IN MY LIFE
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; only trouble comes.”
Job 3:26 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
Let’s talk about having margin in our lives. For many years I ran my life with very little margin. Rarely did I take a vacation. Most of my trips were ministry related in some way or another and I just tacked on a couple of days of vacation.
In my early ministry I was not very good at having a sabbath of rest. I usually worked four days a week in the office, then used Friday for study and sermon preparation, and Saturday was full of church events and kids’ soccer. Sunday was morning and evening services with a brief break for lunch and a quick nap.
Those who study our present culture talk about how we live without margin. We are late to our doctor’s appointment because we were late to the hairdresser because we were late dropping off the kids at school because we ran out of gas. We keep adding more and more to our schedule and giving ourselves less margin.
If there is no margin in our lives, there is no peace. We don’t have time to stop and think, meditate, pray, or read our Bible. Without quietness and margin, we can’t rest. Life becomes one crisis after another.
Learning to have margin was and is an ongoing work in my life. For me it starts in my morning. I intentionally begin my day with time in God’s Word—that’s where I write these daily devotions. Then I have a few moments of reading before I head out for a prayer walk to talk to God and clear my mind.
It is amazing to me that when I win the morning, I win the day. If I get out of bed and do the right things in the morning my day seems to have more time. If I choose to lay in bed an extra 15 minutes, then every starts to crumble.
I know that I’m at an easier season of life. I don’t have children at home—that means I get to set my own schedule with no one waking me up. I don’t have to balance kids schedules and my schedule. So this is not an indictment on those with busy lives. Your season will change.
For me I had to change when we had our first child. Up to that moment I was a night person. I had to learn to get up early to get myself in the right frame of mind before the boys got up. I knew I had to have my prayer and Bible time before they were awake. It was a personal choice because I had to have that space in my life.
My challenge today is to ask you where you find your margin? Looking at your daily routine where can you carve out time to be quiet, read the Bible, pray, and meditate? Margin starts when we put margin in our spiritual, mental, and emotional schedule.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit show me where and how I can have margin in my life. Teach me how to rest and be at peace.
“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”
There is a lot of strength in the secret place of rest adn meditation.
My days must start with the daily devotional.