There are seasons in life and in ministry. Sometimes you feel you are slogging through the mud. Other times, all is working smoothly, ministry is moving, and people are blessed. I remember years like that over my many decades of media ministry. Good things were happening. Others were excited about what they saw. Requests would come in to do this, speak there, meet with these folks, lead this workshop, serve on this committee…and on and on. Most of the time…I said YES. It was as if the word “no” wasn’t in my vocabulary.

To be honest, I haven’t progressed too far down the road, but I have learned there is nothing wrong with saying no to something that is not a priority. It isn’t easy. And it is even harder to do without guilt when it is a good friend or colleague who is asking.

Recently, my friend Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth helped me better understand the whole concept of saying no in a devotional from her book, The Quiet Place. Your own to-do list is usually augmented by the to-do list others have for you…especially if you are in leadership.

“There will seldom be enough time in a twenty-four-hour day for you to do everything that is on your to-do list. For sure, there will never be enough time for everything that is on everyone else’s list for your life! You can’t spend time with every person who wants to talk, read all the books you’d like, and tackle every project you’re interested in….”

So, what is the secret? How do you prioritize things that all seem like a priority? The answer is found in the life of Jesus. He didn’t do everything others wanted Him to do. He didn’t heal everyone, feed everyone, calm every storm, or raise every dead person to life. So… what was His guiding principle? Jesus did what His Father had for Him to do. He had God’s to-do list…His priority. In Jesus’ priestly prayer to His Heavenly Father found in John 17, the Lord said,

“I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.”

John 17:4 NLT

Did you see that? Jesus said He did what His Father gave Him to do. Great insight for us today.

There will be many demands on you, your time, your talent, your knowledge, your energy. Which among them is God’s will for you? Which ones are obviously part of the Lord’s plan for you? More importantly, which ones…though good things to do…are NOT in His will for you? Setting the parameters and priorities according to the Lord’s plan will make saying no a bit easier. As Nancy Wolgemuth says, “All you have to do is the work God assigns to you. And believe it or not, there is always time (and grace) to do everything that is on His to-do list for you.”

I still struggle with saying no, but I continue to work on it. Why don’t you join me in seeking God’s priority and focusing on that first and foremost? Yes…I think I still need to work on that these days in my own life and ministry.