This procrastinator was “slapped upside o’ the head” a few days ago. I was reading Psalm 8 when terrible truth hit me.
“Oh, Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!… What is man that you are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
“You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet‚Ķ Oh Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!” (NKJV)
I read that the day before our small group completed our study of the workbook Restoring Margin to Overloaded Lives by Dr. Richard Swenson. (I highly recommend this!)
The Holy Spirit showed me some connections I’d like to share with you. I put this in a prayer for me and our household:
God, you made us – amazingly – to have dominion over the earth. Oh, Lord, our stuff- our possessions and our piled up activities -have dominion over us! We’ve fallen into the hands of the enemy by not exercising dominion over goods and activities. Change that, Oh, Lord, so we demonstrate your name is excellent in all the earth.
To show your excellence we must have margin. Margin enables us to hear you, to process, and to obey. It enables us to know and enjoy You.
Lord, help me gain margin by taking dominion over stuff and activities.
I have noticed that diligence – doing what needs doing when it needs doing – is the best way for me to gain margin. It avoids a pile up of goods (papers, projects) and activities. Other factors enter in, but for me, this one thing brings more freedom, peace, and space in life than any other.
Just think – the Lord chose to crown us with glory and honor. How can I be slothful in my responsibilities, choosing things I prefer over what He has entrusted to me? Whether it’s work, play, or rest, doing what needs doing when it needs doing results in glory and honor for Him.
I want to take dominion as He designed.
In what way might you feel that you have come under the dominion of stuff and activities?
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