Family life is busy and it can be messy.
Often, we end up feeling swamped with an endless to-do list if we want to meet everyone’s needs.
Like any other father or husband I want to be a success at what I do. I want my family to be successful at what they do. I want to hear Jesus say “well done” at the end of my lifetime. That means allowing God to develop some self-control in my life. Developing self-control is sometimes a painful learning experience but the reward is worth the effort. It is our daily habits that determine how successful our future will be.
Successful people have successful habits. Unsuccessful people do not. Ninety percent of successful people set goals, ninety percent of people who failed did not set goals. Goal setting helps us to let go of the UN-necessary stuff in our lives allowing time to do the really important things we should and want to be doing.
Successful habits start with successful thoughts. I am what I am and I am where I am because of what has gone into my mind. Proverbs tells us that as a man thinks in his heart so is he and to guard our heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. (Proverbs 23:7; 4:23). I am told to renew my mind with the Word of God so as not to be conformed to this world. (Romans 12:2). So with that in mind here are some things God says we can do when we are feeling swamped,
1. Meditate God’s Word.
Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-3; 3 John 2. Success and prosperity come from putting God and his word number one our daily habit list. The way to remove fear, doubt and unbelief is by meditating on God’s Word.
2. Watch Your Confession.
Psalm 112:1-5; Psalm 119:11 & 105; Proverbs 18:21; Isaiah 55:11. We are either thanking God or we are accusing him. Our words shape our daily life. You can talk yourself into a depression if you talk negatively long enough. God inhabits our praised not our complaining. We believe most what we hear ourselves say. Say what God says.
3. Redeem the time we have.
Ephesians 5:16. Instead of waiting until everything is perfect make the most of the time we have. Redeeming the time is translated in the Revised Version “Buying up for yourselves the opportunity”. This phrase does not refer to time in general, but to a special point in time, a circumstance, or crisis. It refers to a moment full of possibilities quickly passing by, which we must take make the best of before it has passed away. Sometimes it a moment of time to instruct a child, to pray a prayer of salvation with someone, a business opportunity; sometimes it is an occasion for love; sometimes for patience; sometimes for victory over temptation and sin. Let us redeem it.
The Take Away
A good prayer for parents is Psalm 90:12: “Lord, teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom.” I realize that families are not neat things. A family has a dynamic all of its own. Trying to schedule a family on a daily basis is something of a supernatural experience. But believe it or not, you can have success at it.
