Devotion: We Are Not Meant To Do It All

“Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.” ~Arthur Ashe

Do you ever feel like you need to do more, be more, and after giving it your all, you still fall short? I totally do.

I was at this very place about a month ago when a dear friend reminded me of a simple and profound truth: “Stop trying to be God and just be you. You can’t do everything and be there for everyone. Only God can do that. Stop trying to do his job. You are enough just the way God made you. Just rest, and let God lead you.”

Boy, were those words exactly what I needed to hear. They freed me from the constant burdens I had been putting on myself. I was humbled, and yet I breathed a sigh of relief. Freedom and truth rang through her words.

Dear friends, take a deep breath. [Tweet “We are not meant to do it all. We were created to do our part.”] No more, no less. Here is what God has to say about this very subject:

Unity and Diversity in the Body

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Cor. 12-27 NIV)

I don’t know about you, but when I read this passage, I get a big smile on my face and feel a huge sense of relief. With God, the weaker parts are indispensable, and the less honorable are treated with honor! Amen! If only we looked at ourselves through this same lens.

Instead of trying to do everything, what if we stepped back, simplified our lives, and fully embraced the gifts and talents God has already given us.  What if we were brave enough to honor our strengths and weaknesses? What would we find?

Freedom and truth.

Remember, the weaknesses we have give room for others in our lives to use their God-given talents. That’s the beautiful gift about everyone being a different part of the body of Christ. We each have a different role that is indispensable and on purpose, but no one is called to do it all.

So, let’s start where we are, use what we have, and do what we can. No more. No less.

Lord, I thank you for making each of us just one part of your body. It can be humbling to realize we cannot do it all, until you remind us we were never meant to. Help us get honest with who we are, discover the gifts and talents you have given us, and simplify our lives so we will have room to plant deeper roots where you are calling us to serve. Amen.

Scripture for Reflection

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” (1Peter 4:10 NIV)

Reach for More

I have always thought of myself as the belly button in the body of Christ. It’s cute, makes everyone smile, and reminds us of how life-giving our relationships with others can be. This week, take note of your own God-given gifts. Write them down, then pray and ask God how you can simplify your life in order to best use your gifts. Are you the hands or feet of Christ? Maybe you are the tender heart, or the ears that hear those around you. Remember, no matter your part, you are indispensable!

Sarah Lundgren has a passion for all things sparkly, loves God with her whole heart, and is known to love Starbucks chai lattes a whole lot, too. Sarah is currently snuggled in the heart of Grand Rapids, Michigan with her sweet hubby, J, and her full-time job is making pretty things all day long for her Etsy business, so sarah designs, but she also loves writing devotional content here at The Glorious Table.

Photograph © Bethany Beams, used with permission