Busyness
is the bane of today's society, especially if we have young children. We work
all day and drive them around all afternoon and evening to dance, music, and
sporting practice and events.
Even
if we are retired, we can still be disproportionately and excessively busy. We
think that busyness is a virtue, and we thrive on the attention and accolades
we receive for the fruit of our labors.
We
get sidetracked, breathless, lacking in peace, and rarely in the center of
God's rest. We feel "less than" or shamed, if we do not participate
in every activity planned by our church family.
Of
course, the fellowship and ministry are always worth our effort; but, at times,
we take on too much, because others do not volunteer to help at all. Some
people are too shy to speak up, and just need to be asked.
Overachieving
is a characteristic of many personality types, because we want to feel
valuable, helpful, effective, and needed.
Yet, we can be all of these virtues without living outside of God's will
for us.
When
we walk in the Spirit, we have peace, joy, fulfillment and direction in each
moment of our endeavors. We see abundant fruit from our efforts; and we breathe
deeply and relax, which releases all of our tension and anxiety.
Someone
said, "We are human BE-ings, not human DO-ings." God exhorts us to
"BE STILL, and know that He is God." (Psalm 46:10). This tiny
sentence teaches us that, as we know God intimately, and adopt a meek and
gentle spirit, we can relax and allow Him to guide us in His will (1 Peter 3:4;
Philippians 4:13).
Biblical
precepts do not challenge us to be busy, but to walk in the Spirit (Galatians
5:15-25). Jesus showed us the example of a man who accomplished so much in His
short lifetime.
Yet,
He spent a great deal of His time drawn aside from busyness and in focused
intimacy with Our Father God. Due to His quiet times, Jesus always carried that
inner peace that we all crave - even through His horrid persecution,
crucifixion and death on Calvary's cross.
Prayer:
Father
God, remind us that rather than imitating a hamster on a caged wheel, You
encourage us to wait on You, so that we can spread our wings and fly in the
heavenly realm like eagles (Isaiah 40:31). Even as we walk in Your Spirit and
accomplish Your will for each moment of our day, we can do so from the position
of sitting in Your presence, relaxed and hopeful each moment of the day.
We
rejoice in the fact that Jesus calls us to walk with Him in a spiritual life,
devoid of stress and inordinate busyness. Remind us that You are on Your
throne, and that You have all things in Your control. You love us
unconditionally, and we do not have to prove our worth to You. You love and
accept us just the way we are, and You gave us Your Spirit to perfect and
sanctify us from one stage of Your glory to the next (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Thought
for the Day:
God
cares for us even more than the lilies in the field and the birds in the air;
He will give us His peace throughout our day as we consult Him before every
activity in which we plan to participate. - Matthew 6:25-34
