The Enemy of Busyness

"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.

Avoid Burnout

But he [Elijah] went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a lone broom or juniper tree and asked that he might die. He said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am no better than my fathers. 1 Kings 19:4




Those who are addicted to approval frequently get 'burned out.' For them there always exists the danger of attempting too much. They so desperately want to please that they do everything they feel is expected of them and then some. Sometimes they say yes just because they cannot say no, not because they think their actions are the will of God. They burn out for lack of discernment or because of unwarranted guilt. And then, their anger builds.

We become angry when we feel all used up and pulled in every direction. Burnout makes us angry, because we recognize deep down inside that it is not normal. We become angry with the people pressuring us, when in reality we are allowing ourselves to be pressured. To avoid pressure from others and from ourselves, we must take control of our lives under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Once when I was complaining about my heavy schedule, I heard the Holy Spirit say, 'You are the one who makes your schedule. If you don't like it, then do something about it.'


Prayer: Lord, pressure comes from every side, and it seems impossible to keep up. Help me to take control of my commitments and eliminate what is not of You. Amen.

















From the book The Confident Woman Devotional: 365 Daily Devotions (except the picture) by Joyce Meyer.