He was an engineer who had been responsible for the invention of things too intricate for me to understand. Yet the message he conveyed to me was one that I not only understood, I needed to hear. 

Many years ago, over a meal in a city where I was speaking, a very kind Christian gentleman was explaining to me the type of work he had been in and the specific machinery that he had designed. In the middle of that conversation, he remarked, “The hardest machine to build is a simple one. The hardest building to construct is a simple one. You have to work hard to keep it simple.”

Now, I am no engineer! But the principle applies to us all: The easiest thing in the world is to have a complicated life. The hardest thing in the world is to have a simple life. You have to work hard to keep it simple.

The Accumulation of Complications

Like barnacles attaching themselves to a ship, daily demands begin to weigh us down. The pull of people. The press of schedules. The prompting of something within that vaguely suggests we can cram one more thing into an already busy and crowded life.

I was recently sitting in one of the busiest airports in the world. The terminal was bustling. People were hurrying by. Everyone was in a rush. Many were carrying far more than they probably need. Yet in the crowds I saw myself. Picking up the luggage of life…struggling under needless burdens…before you know it life can get very complicated.

It didn’t start this way. In fact, we all came into this world with nothing but our naked souls. The innocence of childhood and the simplicity of youth soon give way to the reality that this world is a complex place.

Some of this is growing up. Some of this is not growth at all – it is death. No wonder the world is full of so many unhappy old people. Complexity easily grows into cynicism. The fuller you get the emptier you can become.

Advice for Simplifying your Life

 At the risk of adding one more “list” to your already complicated life, please permit me to share a few things we all must do if we want to live simply…

1. Write down priorities as if you had only a few days to live. The longer you live some things matter less and less and other things matter more and more. Some things don’t matter at all! Go to the end and work your way back. What will matter most when life is over? Your walk with Christ. Your family. Your church. Your connection to eternal things. Measure everything else by these realities. Redeem the time!
2. Eliminate unnecessary clutter. Let’s just get this out-of-the-way because this may be one of the hardest things to do: learn to say no. Refuse to add something else just because you can. Streamline your schedule. Cut out needless distractions. Your calendar doesn’t have to be completely full for your life to be.
3. Think much about Jesus. Do you think the Christian life is complicated? That is a lie of the enemy. WE make it complicated. “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). In our busy list of priorities, one thing is needful. A clear view of the Lord will help to clarify and simplify everything else in life.

A Life of Simplicity

You might think that a world traveler and missionary-apostle like Paul would have had a very complicated life. There were complexities to be sure. But from his vantage point it was all very simple: “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward” (2 Corinthians 1:12).

I want this for my life. Do you want it for yours?

You have to work hard to keep it simple…but the end is worth the effort.

The Most Important Work I Have to Do Every Day

We long for simplicity in our lives. However, if your days are like mine, they often resemble a whirlwind of people and tasks. Correspondence. Problems. Phone calls. Appointments. Projects.  Meetings. Decisions. Life can become very crowded at times!  Many times at the end of a very busy day I have pulled into my driveway and been reminded by the Holy Spirit that I still had “home work” to do. Indeed the work we do in our families is more important than the varied work that so often consumes our lives.

What is the most important work you do every day?

Start with the Most Important Work

I believe that the most important work that I have to do every day of my life is not done while I am “at work.” It is not even done at the end of the day when I am home with my family.  It is the work that I must do at the beginning of the day that is most vital.

Every morning I must work at getting my own heart happy in Jesus. The most important work is worship! If I fail to get my eyes on Christ early, everything else that I seek to do lacks the beauty of His presence. All of life should grow out of my personal walk with Christ.

Many a Christian “worker” is miserable because they have neglected this work. I know. I have been there.

George Muller wrote:

“I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished.”

Remember that it is the joy of the Lord that is to be our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). If you lose the joy of Jesus, do not expect to have the strength of the Lord.  The best work becomes draining and wearying without Him.  The most mundane and ordinary task takes on new blessing in His presence.

How to Have and Keep a Happy Heart

How do you seek to get a happy heart, and keep it?  A few suggestions have been of help to me:

• Meditate in the Scriptures (Psalm 119). Don’t stop with reading. Meditate.  There is a singular joy that is associated with the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit! Oh, the joy of discovery! The thrill of hearing God’s voice and understanding spiritual truth.  Take time to think, to pray, to meditate.
• Cast your cares on the Lord (1 Peter 5:7).  Life is full of joy stealers. When they come, give them to Jesus! Immediately roll those thoughts on the Lord. Refuse to let anything or anyone rob you of Christ’s joy.
• Speak to others about the Lord. Give Him praise. Witness. Encourage. As you speak about your Savior, His joy will stir fresh in your own heart. He truly is precious.
• Sing. Even when you don’t feel like it. Especially when you don’t feel like it!  Hum a hymn. Sing a chorus about Christ. Give Him glory and His glory will fill your heart.

Refreshment in Weariness

Weariness is a part of life and certainly a reality for those who are intent on working for the Lord. Even Jesus grew weary on His journey (John 4:6). Yet as you read the rest of the story in John 4, you discover that He knew how to get Himself refreshed and in the midst of it continued to minister to others. This is what we all must learn if we are to continue moving forward.

“Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.” (Nehemiah 2:18)

Our God is the strong One! He never gets weary or tired (Isaiah 40:28). There is always an end to our resources, but thank God, there is no end to His! He makes a way so that we can find strength to keep building and battling in these days. Only the joy of Christ can sustain us through the daily demands of life.  Work on your soul and all of your work will take on new meaning.