Margin

You know the feeling. You’re like a balloon waiting to pop. You’re like an explosion waiting to detonate. You’re like a rocket waiting for take off. You’re on a schedule so tight no one, I mean no one, dare step in the way. You’re on a mission so focused nothing dare mess it up.

I know the feeling. I’ve found myself in that place time and time again. As long as everything goes exactly as I have planned it, it will be a great day. I’ve got just enough balls flying in the air. My concentration is focused, my mind is honed. But please, just don’t look my way or throw me another ball. I may drop the ones I’m barely hanging on to.

I need margin in my life. I need room to breathe. I need space to be flexible when facing the unexpected. I need margin in every area of my life to keep the scales of balance from crashing to one side.

God created the Sabbath to give us margin.

I happen to be reading through the Bible and just finished Exodus 16 where God gives the people of Israel food to eat called manna. The story comes at a perfect time in my life when I feel like my life is a train that is picking up speed with no room to slow down.

I’m reminded that I don’ t have a choice in the matter. I have to slow down. I have to rest. I have to create a margin.

It’s not my idea. It’s God’s.

Maybe you need that reminder today. Take note of these thoughts from Exodus 16 on how to create margin in your life:

1. Plan Ahead. In Exodus 16:4-5 God gives the parameters. The people would get bread from heaven daily for 6 days. On the 6th day, they were to gather twice as much. Planning was involved. Instructions were followed. In order to build a healthy margin in any area of your life – whether in your finances, time, or relationships – you have got to plan for it.

2. Learn to Say No. That’s the hardest lesson most of us will ever have to learn in life. You can imagine the children on the 7th day pressuring their parents to go out and get more food. You can imagine the neighbors discussing it at night. You can hear the in-laws throwing in their 2 cents worth. But on the morning of the 7th day, every person in that wilderness had to make the difficult choice not to go out and gather manna. Prioritize, analyze, discuss, and eventually figure out what has to go.

3. Don’t compare Margins. I like verse 17-18. Some people collected more manna each day, some collected less. Each gathered as much as he could eat. The same was true in preparation for that day of rest. Your margin will look different than the next person’s. You may not need the same amount of manna every day. Stop looking at your neighbor’s pile. Figure out your needs and plan for them. It’s freeing to live with a vertical focus.

4. Limit your Margin. Know when enough is enough. My guess is that those first few weeks the people of Israel were inclined to gather way more than they needed for that 7th day. But you can only eat so much on the 7th day. Are you over zealous in creating a margin? You’re not going to live to 150. I like what Proverbs 30:8-9: “Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say who is the Lord? or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.” You need a margin, but don’t over do it! One day of rest is all God demanded!

5. Margin is about Trust. This is the most important lesson in the entire chapter. In Exodus 16:28-29 God brings it all back home to the main thing. The people of Israel didn’t trust him. Some went out to gather more on that 7th day, and here is what he says: “how long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath.” Obedience goes back to trust. Do you believe God will meet your needs? Stop trying so hard. Do you believe God cares about the details of your life? Then take some time, reorder your life, and rest in Him.

I heard it said recently that the days are long but the years go quickly by.

Learn to create Margin in your life now. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but I’m on it.

If you have some practical ways to create margin, share them with us by leaving a comment!

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