“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.
