But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men…”  (Judges 7:4)

Be still before the Lord; wait patiently for Him and entrust yourself to Him. (Psalm 37:7)
 
As Gideon prepared to go to battle against the Midianites, the Lord told him something absolutely contrary to conventional human wisdom. Instead of, You need more men, He said, You have too many men. I had a similar (though less dramatic!) experience last week.
 
I’m in the midst of a very busy time. On one particular morning, the myriad thoughts of everything I had to do were making me stressed. I was on the verge of doing the normal human thing: Jump in! Get going! Tackle the first thing on your TO DO list!  Just when I had no time to spare, the LORD said Stop! Sit down, take out your paper and pen, and pray. I prayed something like this …
 
Lord, I acknowledge that You are my Master. You have work for me to do and work in me to do. You are my Superior, my Wise Boss. I trust You to direct me. Order my thoughts, my time, my work. Help me do what You want, how You want. Loosen my grip on my TO DO list and open my ears to Your voice.
 
The next time it seems your responsibilities and commitments require twice as much time as you actually have, do the counterintuitive thing:  Stop … and pray. Take the pressure off your shoulders and give it to your Master to bear, trusting Him to direct you.