A man boasted that he could whip anybody on his street, but no one took him up on his boast. Then he boasted that he could whip anybody in the neighborhood, but no one challenged him on that, either. Finally, he took out ads in several regional papers, ads boasting that he could whip anybody in the state. A few days later, he showed up at his friend’s house with two black eyes and bruises all over his face. The friend asked, “What happened to you?” The man answered, “I took on too much territory.”

Folks, we should all guard against taking on more territory than is in God’s will for our lives. We can overextend ourselves. We can try to do too much. We can get too many things going at once. We can run ourselves ragged.

The ironic thing about all the technology of our modern world is that it speeds us up rather than slows us down. Nothing seems to take as long as it used to take, but we don’t use the found time to relax and ease our pace. Instead, we use it to attempt to get even more stuff done. I pity us all when the next major breakthrough in time-saving devices hits the stores. If it has the same effect on our lives as the microwave, the computer, and the cell phone, we’ll be in trouble!

So, my advice to you is: Take a long, hard look at your life and ask God if everything you are doing is His will. And then be open minded about His answer. It could well be that some of the things you are knocking yourself out over aren’t even in His plan for your life. Remember those famous words from Jesus:

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (N.K.J.V.)