My Schedule Is Overwhelming Series

My Schedule is Overwhelming!

Introduction

In the series that we began last week, we discussed the idea that parts of our life are out of control. They are chaotic. Last week we tackled the family. Our families are near and dear to us. We love them bunches, but they can bring chaos into our lives. And we examined some of the reasons for the chaos and what can be done about it.

Today, we want to look at our schedule, the things that we have plans for ourselves to get done, and we might discover that we have scheduled too many things in too short a time, and it has overwhelmed us and brought chaos into our lives.

If you hear yourself in your own self-talk or when you are talking to others and you use phrases like: “I will never get done everything I got to get done today;” or “I don’t have time for one more thing today;” or “I cannot squeeze one more thing into my schedule; “ than your schedule is probably is too overwhelming and it in causing chaos in your life.

There was a man in the Old Testament by the name of Moses whose schedule was overwhelming, and it was bringing chaos into his life and to those who had to deal with him. And it took his father-in-law, Jethro, to point it out to him. And let’s see what we can learn when Jethro basically tells Moses- your schedule is going to kill you.

Turn with me in your Bibles to Exodus 18 and we are going to read two passages of Scripture. First, we will read verses 2-6 and then then we will read verses 13-18. Please stand for the reading of God’s Word.

Scripture

Exodus 18:2–6 (NKJV)

2 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, 3 with her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land”) 4 and the name of the other was Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”); 5 and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God. 6 Now he had said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.”

Exodus 18:13–18 (NKJV)

13 And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. 14 So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”

15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

17 So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. 18 Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself.

Point

You know that your schedule is overwhelming if you have no time available for your family.

Look at what is happening in verses 2 and 3. Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, 3 with her two sons...

As we come to Chapter 18, Moses is a man working from early morning to late evening day in and day out. When you put in those kinds of hours in - something is going to suffer. Something got to get left out.

Moses decides to send his wife and his two sons back home to her mom and dad. Moses is thinking to himself, I don’t have time to deal with a wife and two boys. They will be cared for better than what I can care for them at her mom and dad’s house.

When you overload your schedule, you tend to forget what is most important. Moses is certainly doing God’s work ministering to the people of God, but he is neglecting a more important responsibility - taking care of his own family.

In 2022, there are husband’s whose work is their life and as a result their relationship with God and their wives and their children suffers. In fact, I know ministers whose lives are all about the church work, that their relationship time with Jesus suffers and the relationship time with the family suffers.