Embracing God’s Truth Over Your Daily To Do List

Your to do list is important.

Not everyone embraces a daily to do list. But for many of us, if it’s not written down it doesn’t get done. If we are working from a list, how often do we ignore God’s truth because we’re too busy? I’m distractible enough that I often stop mid-morning to scribble a note that includes, “Make Coffee” and “Drink Coffee.” In the coming months you can expect from me an entire series on the disciplined woman regarding homemaking, but first I must make one thing clear: A to do list is good. A truths list is better. 

Ignoring God’s truth leads to overwhelm.

We make great plans, and then life happens. There are seasonal shifts, sicknesses, vacations, and holidays. DIY home projects that turn into beasts with claws and fangs. What we originally planned to do turns into an avalanche of anxiety. How is it possible to do all of this?

The items listed don’t correlate with the allotted time. Or maybe time isn’t the problem, but the job itself is onerous. Maybe there’s Mom-guilt involved. If I spend this time painting the bedroom, who’s going to read a book to my four-year-old? If I’m not spending time with my kids, why did I even have them in the first place? What a terrible person I am. I chose to be a wife and mom, but now I spend all of my time working on house projects or cooking or work outside the home and my life is a complete failure.

If I don’t complete my daily to do list, I’m a failure.

Sadly, I believe the lie that if I don’t get all the things accomplished, then I’m worthless. My life would be simple if I could only finish all of my projects. There’s a list of things to do and this will keep me on track. Do you ever feel the same way? Can you picture how lovely everything would be if you could follow through with these daily, weekly, monthly tasks and finally complete the one-time projects? Everything would be fine again, if only. 

Surprise! Most of life is outside of our control.

Sometimes you start the day with great energy and focus, but people and circumstances beyond your control mess up your plans. The dog peed on the carpet! The lid flew off the green smoothie you were making for health’s sake and now you have an hour of work added to your day washing the toaster, sides of the fridge, counters, backsplash, and half of the kitchen floor before it turns into green concrete. One thing or another interrupts our flow and we’re tempted to throw our hands in the air and shout, “Why does this always happen to me?”

Our subconscious controls our actions.

When these negative thoughts sneak in, it doesn’t take long before they are flooding my mind. I start to believe the lie that I’m not worth much. Nobody cares about me anyway. My efforts are pointless. Once I listen to these thoughts, my energy crashes. I slow down. I’m paralyzed by the fear of failure or of the work required of me. The work is overwhelming. I’m giving up! Why even try? Life is terrible and really hard. None of this is fun or exciting. I should have just stayed in bed for all that I have to show for my efforts. 

If my subconscious believed from the beginning that my work was pointless, it was already looking for a way out. My subconscious has done its best to rescue me. Therefore, I begin to act as though it’s better to not do anything. But instead of feeling good, now I’m dealing with anxiety, defeat, and sadness as a result of all the things that I haven’t done. What a nasty cycle to get caught in. 

Leaning on my own power instead of God’s truth is a sure sign of defeat. 

When I fall into this negative thought pattern, it is a sure sign that I have deviated from my purpose. What is so important on that daily to do list that it interrupts my connection with the creator of the universe? Mary’s sister, Martha, in the gospels was worried about many things, but only one thing was needed. To sit at Jesus’s feet.

If we believe our value lies in what we accomplish we will never be fulfilled.

That subconscious of mine has spent a long time believing that my value and acceptance rests in what I am able to accomplish. If my actions define my worth, then I had better work hard all the time until everything is done or I’m a fraud and nobody will love me. And now I have a to do list that has overwhelmed me to the point of paralysis. What brought me to this point? How can I move forward? Did Martha’s dog pee on the carpet the same time the baby spit up down her shirt and the husband called to say he’d be working late? How am I supposed to sit at Jesus’s feet with that kind of nonsense going on? 

How can we be a human being instead of a human doing?

When I’m depending on what I do instead of who I am to fulfill me, the process is never-ending. When I begin to think that my daily tasks are the only path to peace and freedom, anxiety isn’t far behind. Instead, I need to embrace God’s truth. How can I let Him overpower my to do list? The lie is that if I don’t do all the right things, then I’m a failure. This needs to be replaced with a truth. The truth is that my value as a human does not rest on what I’m able to do. 

What is true? 

Alongside a to do list, everyone should develop a truth list. Because our human minds are forgetful, we often lose sight of what is true and spend our time worried about things that are false. Instead of “I’m too tired” let’s replace it with “God is my strength, and I’m going to take a nap, or go to bed early, or advocate for my health by asking for help.” When you want to say, “Nobody pays attention to me,” say, “For when I am weak, my God is strong, and how can I find ways to serve others instead of looking to be served?” Because we see a list of tasks, we believe, “I don’t have time!” Let’s remember, “God is outside of time and knows what I need.” There are many biblical stories of women who honored God by their work. We will study them another time because our work means nothing if we are not abiding in His truth.

Who is my God?

When you write a Truth List, it does not need to be directly connected to your tasks, or your fears, or stress. Instead, simply list everything that you know without a doubt to be true about God. Then you can take the next step and find out what that means for you. 

• God made me to glorify him. 
• He made me on purpose to spread light, follow Him, to speak His gospel, and find peace in Him. 
• I serve the creator of the universe. 
• My God is a God who saves. 
• My children and I were made in the image of God. 
• God equips those He calls. 

If God is sovereign, what does that mean for you and your daily to do list? What does that have to do with mopping the floor? If Jesus is preparing a place for me, how does that affect changing my children’s bed sheets, teaching at the homeschool co-op, reading another book to the toddler, typing the slides for the Christmas program, calling eighteen different roofing companies to fix the gutters? For me, the list of truths transforms my attitude. In fact, the tasks that once towered over me lose their power. It’s made clear that they were either unimportant in the first place, or I find a hidden strength to complete them. 

Let God’s truth overpower your daily to do list.

You will always have time to do God’s will. This is something to add to your truths list. The next time you find your anxiety rising, stop everything and start writing what is true. 

Once you embrace God’s truth over your daily to do list, you’ll be one step closer to His peace.

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