In my early years as a Christian, while talking with our Associate Pastor’s wife, I concluded a very lengthy monologue. She responded by summarizing my description, “Then what you are telling me is that you are a white washed tomb.”
A tomb? Me? But…as I reflected on what I just told her, I realized that
she described me perfectly. I was a white washed sepulcher (Matthew
23:27-28)!!!
Although I already repented of my sin and believed in Jesus Christ for my salvation, presently busyness pervaded every moment of my life.
These distractions prevented the Holy Spirit from using me as He so desired. I
appeared clean on the outside by Jesus’ blood, but actually putrifying sins and
attitudes occupied my inner, carnal nature. The horrible fact about this
ungodly predicament is that I had absolutely NO idea how to change this
situation in my life!
I knew God; yet, I did not know how to be one with Him. For years prior to
this day, I spent my time trying very desperately to please God. I knew my
eternal Salvation was guaranteed by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, but I still
tried to earn God’s love by my works. I was so active FOR God that I could not
squeeze a personal relationship with Him into my busy schedule.
After all, I had three children and a Pastor husband who brought with him
the responsibilities of a growing inner city church. Everyone in the family
looked to me to match socks, find shoes, and have hot meals on the table three
times a day. The phone rang constantly with church members calling for me to
quote the price of mushrooms at the grocery store, to head some committee, to
start some new program for the church, or to give them counsel on some malady. When did I
have time to do more? I never even had time for myself, unless I stayed up late
at night, which I often did.
Henry David Thoreau, in his book, Walden, mentions the “mass of men
leading lives of quiet desperation.” This quiet desperation threatened to
strangle the life from me. I realized that I needed to get serious with this
problem, before it got serious with me!
Someone said, “The good things can become the enemy of the best things.”
Sometimes we forget that the good we do often robs us of time that we could be
doing the best thing. Our goal in life as Christians is to be led by the Holy
Spirit moment-by-moment throughout the day. This is the only way to possess ultimate fulfillment and an intimate
relationship with the true and living God.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank You for
caring enough to show me that busyness robbed me of intimacy with You. Thank
You for teaching me to spend quality time with You every day and for drawing me
closer to Your heart in the process.
Thought for the Day:
