Do The Next Thing

“And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the desire of your eyes with a blow, but you shall not mourn, and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not come. Groan silently; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your mustache, and do not eat the bread of men. So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded.” Ezekiel 24:15-18

Ezekiel was a man who had witnessed and done amazing things in the name of the Lord. We don’t know much about him from the book named for him, for the simple reason that the prophet doesn’t tell us a whole lot about himself. Nevertheless, when we come across this description of the death of Ezekiel’s wife, it is heart-wrenching to read what God asked of Ezekiel. Upon being deprived of the very “desire of his eyes,” Ezekiel was asked not to mourn, not to sit shiva, but instead to get up in the morning, put on his shoes, and eat his Wheaties as normal. How extraordinary!

Some of you may remember a scene in the movie Apollo 13, when two of the three astronauts trapped in a dying spaceship begin arguing with each other. The mission captain, played by actor Tom Hanks, tries to calm them down by telling them, “there are 500 things we need to do to get this bird back Earthside. We are on number 29. Let’s find out what the next thing is.”

Now, I have no idea if the real-life astronaut Hanks portrayed actually said such a thing in that situation. Whether he did or not, I think there is wisdom for each of us in the response the character gave. Right now, I and my colleagues in Jews for Jesus are approaching a busy season of ministry. We’re preparing for our annual High Holiday services, and soon after that we will prepare for Ingathering, an annual retreat we sponsor for Jewish believers and their families. It’s a lot to deal with, and it’s possible to get quickly overloaded with so much to do. That’s something that happens to everyone, whether they are in ministry or not. Maybe you’re someone whose brain just shuts down in such situations.

Just as Ezekiel set his grief aside at the Lord’s command, each of us also has to “do the next thing.” There’s always another activity coming up for us, whether it’s preparing for something in ministry or taking a kid to soccer practice. It’s important for us to find a way to do the next thing – whatever it may be – even when we feel so overburdened we can’t think straight. With that in mind, here are ten things we can focus on to help us in “doing the next thing.”

1. Go to God first. It’s easy for us to try and solve things on our own, but we need to let God be the Problem-solver. Like King David, we should be willing to say, “Hineni, here am I; let Him do to me whatever seems good to Him.” (II Samuel 15:26)

2. Receive all that God has to give to us, and all that He doesn’t. It’s easy to receive some of the things God has to give to us. It’s harder to receive some of the things He doesn’t (rest, a pause between activities, an answer to prayer on our timetable instead of His). “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; Thou dost support my lot.” (Psalm 16:5)

3. With acceptance will come peace. We have to reach an acceptance that even when it feels like we’re carrying the weight of the world, we must simply keep going. “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” (John 14:27)

4. Remember that it is always possible to do the will of God. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)

5. Act immediately. Feeling overburdened can cause us to procrastinate from doing the next thing. Once you know what it is, to quote the Nike ad: JUST DO IT. “I hastened and did not delay to keep Thy commandments.” (Psalm 119:60) “You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.” (James 4:14)

6. Love means sacrifice. What we do as Christians, called to be ministers of the Gospel, we do out of our love for God. That love demands sacrifice (of time, of energy, etc.) “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (I John 3:16)

7. Choose your attitude. Having the wrong attitude is probably the number one reason that I fail to do the next thing. I’d bet it’s much the same for most believers. We need to be humble. We need to be willing to be in the service of others. “Have this attitude in yourselves which also was also in Christ Jesus, who … emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself.” (Philippians 2:5, 7-8)

8. Analyze your struggle. Some of the most difficult struggles I face in doing the next thing boil down to the fact that I want to follow my will instead of obeying God’s will. Make sure your struggle isn’t just delayed obedience. “I shall run the way of Thy commandments, for Thou will enlarge my heart.” (Psalm 119:32)

9. Give it all to Jesus. When we feel overwhelmed, it’s a good sign that we may have taken things onto ourselves that we should be letting the Lord handle for us. Take the time to give those things over to Jesus. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My load is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

10. Give thanks. Give thanks for everything you’re going through – think of how God is using you to advance His kingdom! “Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me; it is oil upon the head. Do not let my head refuse it.” (Psalm 141:5)