Jesus’ Answer to Your Overwhelming To-Do List

A few years ago, I was feeling the wrath of an unexpected storm. With both of my parents in the middle of health crises, I found myself hopping in and out of airplanes so I could rush to help. But because I dropped everything, my to-do list threatened to drown me. Besides caring for my parents, there were conferences, book deadlines and projects requiring my immediate attention.

Late one night as I laid my head upon my pillow, my mind began to spin as I thought through all I had to accomplish in the next few months. My parents were still in crisis, one of my children had hit a difficult snag and my heart literally ached with concern for my loved ones, plus my to-do list was growing faster than I could possibly respond. “Help me, Lord! Help me!” I cried from my bed as sheer panic drummed my heart.

With tears, I told the Lord, “I am only one little gal, and how is it You’ve called me to accomplish so much in these next few weeks?”

“Behold Me,” I heard Him whisper.

So I tried to imagine what Peter must have seen when he saw the Lord walking across the top of the water on the Sea of Galilee. But instead of “seeing'” the Lord, all I could ‘”see” was a blizzard of paperwork falling around me, each page scrawled with yet another to-do written in black marker.

As I watched this paper blizzard fall around me, I saw the pages of my to-do list landing, then floating on the turbulent Sea of Galilee. That’s when I saw Him. Jesus was walking toward me over the tops of the floating papers.

“Behold Me,” he whispered.

As His face came into focus, I took a step toward Him, my foot secure as it stepped on one of the many floating papers around me. Miraculously, both the paper and wave held my weight.

“Behold Me,” he encouraged as I continued to look at him.

I took another step, then another as my eyes locked on Jesus’ face.

When I reached him, he said, “Linda, you can only walk through this storm if you behold me.”

My heart quit racing, and my tears stopped falling. The Lord himself had shown me how to set my priorities by putting “behold Him” at the top of my to-do list. It’s as Isaiah 26:3-4 states, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in God the Lord we have an everlasting rock” (TLB).

Let’s pray:

Dear Lord,

If I can be truthful, I am a woman with a to-do list bigger than I can manage. I now see that when I behold You, my to do’s will fall into place. Lead me and guide me every step of my every day—as I continue to behold You.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen 

 

Based on story told in Experiencing God’s Presence; Learning to Listen While You Pray. {eoa}

 Linda Evans Shepherd is a nationally known Christian speaker and a best-selling author of over 30 books. She’s the president of Right to the Heart Ministries, founder of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA) and the founder of GodTest.com. Her online and speaking ministries have seen well over 350,000 people come to Christ and are seen by over 45,000 people daily.

This article originally appeared at gottopray.com.