"I am trusting You, O Lord, saying, 'You are my God!' My future is in Your hands. Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly." Psalm 31:14-15
Are you burning the candle at both ends? Taking on too many responsibilities, no matter how 'good' they may be, can often render us ineffective for service to God.
Busyness, no matter how much it may be 'working for the Lord' can exhaust us, make us unavailable for quaility time with our family, and can cause us to miss opportunities that the Lord may specifically want us to be a part of because we've already filled up our time slots or are just plain too tired to do it.
When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another - and ourselves.
God knows our limits. He understands our capacities. He's willing, if we will ask Him, to help us navigate the busyness and activity that often trips us up. Thankfully, He can rescue us from the barren life of busyness. He wants us to offer our too-full schedules up to Him, allowing Him to weed out all the activities and responsibilities. Then, place back on our calendars only the things HE longs for us to do and possess.
When this happens, we can create space in our calendar to retreat, places of sweet respite in our days where we connect with God. We can SLOW DOWN and sit still to listen and learn.
SLOW DOWN. Sit in God's presence. Take a walk in the park. When someone talks to you, really listen. Are all those things that you've put before your God and loved ones REALLY that important?
Taking time out for a break from it all is something we need to do for ourselves, WITHOUT feeling guilty the whole time we're trying to do it. We need time for God to refill and refresh us. We need time for God to speak to us. We need time for God to minister to our emotions. Resting and relaxing is the most spiritual thing we can do sometimes.
It's time to put our schedules before the Lord. Have you overcommited?
Father, forgive us for allowing busyness to overtake our lives, crowding out others and worst of all You. Help us to take care of Your temple, for You live within us. We offer our bodies to You as a living sacrifice. Help us to get rest and refreshment like we should. Help us as we purpose to place only those items on our calendars that You want for us to have on them. Show us what to do with our time, Lord. Lead us. Give us grace and discernment when to say 'yes' and the boldness to say 'no' when we should, without fear of rejection or making others mad. In Jesus' name, Amen.