Secret #105 Time-Saving Techniques Are Good, But Being Clear About What to Live for Is Better

"We can be quite sure that whatever God wishes us to devote ourselves to He will grant us time enough in which to do it. Our responsibility is to find out exactly what He wants and hold resolutely to that. One of our greatest problems is that we misunderstand what God asks of us, either by adding all kinds of extra responsibilities or by possessing only a hazy idea of what He wishes. We will gain more time by properly understanding His will for us than by all time-saving suggestions put together."


— Robert Banks, The Tyranny of Time: When 24 Hours Is Not Enough

Secret #104 Beware the Knee-Jerk No

No is a two edged sword.

It can cut you free from entanglements you shouldn't have been involved in to begin with—and it can starve your very soul.

That's right. If your autopilot is set to automatically say no to everything... your soul will starve.

Consider this: It's possible to be so focused on protecting YOUR schedule with "no" that you miss God's agenda for you.

Think about it. In such cases, you're not saying no to people or opportunities—you're saying no to God himself.

That's not where I want to live.

Yet, saying yes to God doesn't mean saying yes to everything.

So here's my two cents: Learn to say no... but only so you can say a passionate yes to God when he hands you an assignment.

How can you know if an opportunity calling for your attention is just a good thing... or a God thing?

At the risk of being too simple, I would encourage you to do something crazy: Ask Him.

Beware of the knee-jerk no. You could be missing God.