A man was driving down the road behind a large truck, and began to notice something strange. At every stoplight the truck driver jumped out of the cab and pounded the side of the truck with a baseball bat. After seeing this happen five or six times, his curiosity got the best of him. At the next light, he jumped out of his car and ran up to the driver who was pounding his truck. He said, “Hey fella, can I ask what you’re doing?” The driver looked at the man and said, “It’s like this. I have a one-ton truck and two tons of canaries in this truck. I have to keep one ton of birds in the air at all times or this truck won’t move!”

Have you ever felt that way – like you had more canaries than you could carry? I know I certainly have, and most of my colleagues in the ministry that I’ve talked with feel the same way. There are so many needs – people who need counseling, new believers who need to be disciple, Bible studies and Sunday school classes that need to be started , outreach ministries that need to be developed, sick and shut-ins who need to be visited, leaders that need to be trained, and on and on. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to do all that we want to do.

There are so many things that NEED to be done every day we are reminded of the truth of the words of Christ when He said, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few” (Matthew 9:37).

In the midst of this flurry of activity, we need to remember that Jesus also said, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). Doing God’s work is always challenging, frequently demanding, sometimes very difficult – but it is never impossible. Nor is it an exercise in futility.

God’s perfect plan for you and me doesn’t include our constantly having to keep a ton of birds in the air. There is always enough time do His will. The key is learning to separate the good from the best – and focus our attention on doing what is best. This involves letting go of some of the canaries, but it brings with it greater peace and increased impact for the cause of Christ.

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Pastor George A. Mulford, III