“How are you doing?” “Busy.” “How’s your job?” “Busy.”
“How’s your relationship with God?” “Busy.” If our life is characterized by the
word “busy”, we might need to make some changes in our schedule. God’s Word
says that our lives will have different seasons, a time for war and a time for peace
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 ESV). The problem comes when our schedule starts to get in
the way of our work for God.
Here are a few questions that can be helpful when looking at
our schedules:
1.
Am I being a good manager of the time God has
given me?
We are called to be wise in the way we
manage our time (Ephesians 5:15-16 ESV). God has given us this time on Earth to
make His name great. If we don’t tell each minute where it should go, our
schedule ends up controlling us. Things we never intended to spend an hour
on end up floating away. The opportunity exists to make our time on Earth count
by being intentional in the way we spend our time.
2.
Am I busy doing things that matter?
In our culture, we have made “me time” a
thing. We justify bing-watching Gilmore Girls or scrolling through Instagram,
rather than spending time with God. God never intended to shame us into
spending time with Him; rather, it is an opportunity. Often when I feel I
don’t have time for community with believers or spending time in the Bible,
it’s because I’ve filled my time with mindless distractions. When I consider
the brevity of life and work that He has called me to do (John 9:4 ESV), I am
encouraged to spend my days seeking His will for my time. C.S. Lewis said, “God
doesn’t want something from us. He simply wants us.”
3.
Am I able to be present with the people around
me?
A relational God formed us to be relational
beings. We are meant to be present, fully engaged, with those in our sphere. When
our to-do list is never-ending, we
don’t recognize and are unavailable to the needs of others. What if God is calling us to be a listening ear for a friend in trouble, but we miss it
because of the whirlwind speed of our life?
It takes a great deal of humility to “look not only to his [our] own interests, but also to the
interests of others” (Phillipians
2:4 ESV). May God remove any selfishness that leads to putting our schedule over selfless servanthood
for others.
4.
Am I trying to solve problems God never gave me?
God promises that we will have troubles in
this life (John 16:33 ESV). There are specific troubles that God has sent us
to weather with His strength. This does not mean that every problem is
God-sent for us to try to solve. In addition, some problems are meant to be
given to God and not dealt with by us. Prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit
are necessary to know what problems are God-ordained.
5.
Am I making space for God in my daily life?
Lastly and most importantly, we must spend time with God
daily. If we have not maximized the most important part of our day, none of the
minimizing of unimportant things matters. Here’s the reality: we will never accidentally
fall into spending time with God. We can fall into a lot of habits (binging,
overeating, gossiping), but time with the Lord takes intentionality. Our
identity is not based on what we do, but whom we do it for. If our
relationship with God is not healthy, our motivation to change our schedule
will not be genuine.
Amongst our busy lives, we have to let our schedule show
that God is ruler of our life. This may mean we have to ask ourselves really
tough questions and get real with our priorities. We have to invite God into
our hearts to rearrange some attitudes that are not developing good habits. Our
life should reflect to others that God is enough.
Good word!! Bases covered!! First few lines and I was thinking, "Whew, YES, preach it sister!"
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading!
DeleteHi Christina! Your words are needful - especially this time of the year. These 5 questions are a great tool to get to the heart of what matters. Blessings to you!
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading and for your feedback. Yes, this time of year can have us in a tizzy trying to be everything to everyone. We have to get back to the basics and remember why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. Blessings!
Delete#4. I do this all the time. I have a big heart and I want to help, but often times I take on too much or get overly involved. I have to remind myself that some things are not for me to fix.
ReplyDeleteLily, I am the same way. It's easy to get caught up in the problem, especially when it's happening to someone you care a lot about. It's comforting to know that God already knows the situation and is working it out for His glory.
DeleteI AGREE! Have you heard of Dr. Laura? My mother loves her and I find it interesting she is always chiding parents for being too busy to spend time with their kids. She's totally against leaving children in daycare all the time and working and would much rather see one of the parents stay home with the kids, at least part-time. It's totally the opposite of what culture tells us but yet, I've done both and I can see why there is virtue in it. It's truly a question of values at the end of the day. I try very hard (but still sometimes fail!) to not give my family less attention than I give my ministry. I want them to always come first. It's hard to find a balance but as you said- busyness is not a badge of honour!
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading. I've never heard of her, but it sounds like there is a lot of merit to what she says. Yes, that is so counter-cultural to what the world says. As someone who doesn't have kids yet, it's good to hear what insights parents have.
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