Have you ever heard the saying, “every yes you say is a no to something else”? I was recently reminded of a time in college when I was overbooked, stressed out, and constantly exhausted. My schedule was packed every night of the week and every weekend. I tried to sabbath by spending time alone with God every Saturday morning, but I often still felt depleted.
Looking back, I know now that I said “yes” way too many times in that season, and it came at a cost to my relationship with God and my health. I was too prideful to admit my limitations and too much of a people pleaser to say “no.”
Thankfully, I’ve grown to accept that I cannot be all things to all people. No matter how big my capacity seems or how gifted I am, I am still a human being who God created with limitations.
Guarding Our Limited Hearts
It’s one thing to know that we have limits. It’s another thing to know what to do with our limits and how to care for ourselves well within the time and energy we are able to give.
Proverbs 4:20-23 encourages us to guard our hearts because the heart is the center of one’s inner life. The heart is where we do all of our thinking, feeling, and decision-making. If our hearts are searching for satisfaction in something that is not God, we will not make wise choices for ourselves.
How are we to truly guard our hearts? Before we say yes to something, we should check our hearts. Like I mentioned above, I’m prone to want to say yes to make myself look better or to please others. Once I discovered and admitted those struggles, I was able to start evaluating options before saying an immediate yes.
I have found so much freedom from these struggles because I know my identity rests in Christ alone. I am now able to say no without hesitation. Of course, it is always wise to pray and ask God for clarity before making a decision, but nowhere in God’s Word does it say that we must say yes to everything placed before us. In fact, I would argue that God wants us to say no to some things so that we can prioritize time with Him.
Modeling Rest After Our Perfect Example
Scripture highlights the countless times Jesus pulled away from His disciples and the crowds of people to be alone with God (Mark 1:35; 4:38; 6:30-32). If Jesus, who is fully man and fully God, needed to rest alone with His Father, how much more do we finite humans need to rest alone with our Father?
If I’m being honest, it is still hard for me to find a balance of work, rest, and fun in my schedule today. Although I’ve gotten much better at saying no, I still wrestle with life’s demands and can find myself feeling busy and tired.
Just last week, God put it on my heart to take a full day away from others to spend intentional time with Him. I understand not everyone is able to take a full day away from people to rest by themselves. I wonder, though, if there are small changes every person could make to rest more with God. What this day of rest looked like for me was turning my phone on airplane mode for several hours, praying and listening to God’s voice on a long walk, spending extended time in God’s Word, journaling my thoughts and feelings throughout my time alone, and listening to only worship music for a full day.
I encourage you to pray and consider how God wants you to rest with Him this week. Maybe there’s a decision He wants you to say no to. Maybe there’s a pocket of free time this weekend that you can sit with Him and listen to what He wants to say to you. Maybe there’s a day this month you can plan to take time away from others and just be with God. Friend, there is freedom to say no to prioritize rest with God. How do you want to do that today?
