“It is okay to say ‘no’ to good things in order to invest deeply in the best thing.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – May 5, 2026
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” John 13:12-15
Our culture leads us to believe that we can do it all. We want to be “yes people”, seize every opportunity, and cast a broad net of influence. But this notion could do with a healthy reality check. If we spread ourselves too thin, we end up diluting our influence. Every “yes” is a “no” in some other area, and sometimes in the areas that matter most.
I think about this often as a mother. A “yes” to bedtime stories and songs means a “no” to teaching in the midweek youth group like I did in my pre-children days. A “yes” to reading my children the Bible and poetry after breakfast means a “no” to checking in on social media. A “yes” to taking my son along to the garden to plant beans and potatoes means a “no” to listening to that podcast everyone’s raving about. Every day, I have to choose what to say yes to and where I will focus my influence. For this season, my calling is clear: to pour my time and influence and “yeses” into the three little rascals darting around my feet and making all manner of messes for me to clean up. While that means saying “no” to endless other opportunities, I do believe narrowing my influence to these precious wee people will, in the long run, bear a much greater harvest than a thousand “yeses” elsewhere.
I take confidence from the gospels in which Jesus sets the example for strategically limiting one’s circle of influence. He chose only twelve disciples (and by no means the most promising) when he might have recruited an army. Of those, he chose only three to make up his inner circle. For his three years of ministry, he poured his teaching and his love into those few, knowing that filling them to their depths with the Truth would allow them to pour it out like fountains to the masses when he had returned to his Father. For every town Jesus visited, he said “no” to countless other towns, other needs. For every dinner invitation he accepted, he must have turned down a dozen others. He may have worked tirelessly, but he did not spread himself too thin. Where he invested, he invested deeply. As a result, the whole world would one day hear the good news of his redemptive mission.
Saying “no” is terribly difficult for many of us, but we can draw courage from thinking long term. As a mother, I know that ten or twenty years down the road, I will never wish I had checked my email a bit more frequently or gone to more social events. I also know that I will never regret every precious moment I poured into my children, my own little inner circle of disciples that I hope, with every hug, story, and song, to point to their Good Shepherd.
Prayer
Lord, make my calling clear so that I can, with courage and conviction, say ‘no’ to anything that is diluting my work for your kingdom and say ‘yes’ to the things that really matter. Amen.
Application
Take stock of where your time and energy are going this week. Prayerfully identify where your influence matters most and ask the Lord to help you set aside – for now – anything that is keeping you from serving deeply in that area.
Related Reading
Ecclesiastes 3:1; John 12:34-35; 2 Corinthians 9:6; 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8
Worship Resource
Keith and Kristyn Getty: Facing a Task Unfinished
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