Growing Despite Busy-ness

I am a Type A person. Planners, to-do lists, and colored pens bring me joy. I enjoy planning and organizing my life, maybe because it gives me a sense of control over what I do. Maybe you can relate. Maybe not to organization, but to the idea of wanting control over things in your life. But what about when my life gets busy and things don’t go according to plan? There comes a point in life where I have to just let go and trust God to take care of everything. It is so easy to schedule God right out of the picture. A slow walker on campus, a broken elevator, or a long line for food seems to bust my oh-so-perfectly curated, jam-packed schedule -- leaving me grumpy and yearning for more productivity.

    Sadly, this seems to be the case with my ministries from time to time. I get so focused on getting the work done, that sometimes my heart isn’t in the right place about it. I get so worried about hitting deadlines and releasing new content, that sometimes I just don’t have anything to say yet I foolishly say something anyway (1 Cor. 13:1.) I tend to focus on pouring out and don’t slow down long enough to let God pour life into me. I have to allow my cup to run over (Ps 23:5) before I can allow that abundance to help others. This has been a hard lesson for me to learn. But I remember the words of Corrie ten Boom, “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God you’ll be at rest.” This reminds me to turn my eyes to the author and finisher of my faith (Heb 12:2.) I fear that many of us will be tempted to jump in this same boat as we face the start of a new school year and (hopefully) the return of many to work or new seasons of homeschooling. 

Read Luke 8:5-8

Being hung up about the world and stressed with today’s troubles doesn’t allow God’s truth to settle into your heart and give you rest. When we are focused on worldly matters, it is so easy for the birds to come and steal away our seeds - they contain joy, peace, and so much more! When we don’t let these seeds land, we suffer spiritually. Instead, we must nourish the seeds and allow them to grow. We don’t want to “lack moisture” (v. 6); instead, we must purposely soak our souls into the Living Water to see the seeds flourish in our lives. I’m totally guilty of wanting to be the sower all the time. But it is vital to my spiritual survival to allow myself to “be the ground” on a regular basis. I can’t only give all the time. There comes a time where I have to learn and listen to God myself to receive. If I don’t have “good ground” in my heart, then I won’t be of help to anybody. 

One helpful tip to remember to pause and be a receiver is keeping your priorities in order. My dad always said you have to keep your personal relationship with God first, then your family, then your ministry. Allowing things to be put in different order leads to heartbreak and difficulty. When do we often get our priorities mixed up? When we are stressed about one area of our lives, we change our focus “temporarily” to accommodate. When one area of life demands more attention, we are so quick to change our focus and priorities. A big project at work, a surprise test, an opportunity for overtime -- these things all so easily steal our attention away from where it should be. And even the best of us struggle to go back to having our priorities back in order; it’s easy to change it “just this once” for this event or another. Soon, we find ourselves in a rabbit hole, far from where God would have us, but with all the good intentions in the world. 

Our busy schedules are a prime example of one of the plethora of ways the devil comes against us in spiritual battle. Your schedule is definitely a “care of this world” (Mark 4:19 - it chokes out the word!) and it could be classified as part of the pride of life (1 John 2:16), one of Satan’s beloved tactics to trap Christians. As the old saying goes, “if the devil can’t get you down, he’ll keep you busy.” As long as our schedules are full, our minds go elsewhere. 

You can’t always clear out your schedule, but as Christians it is our duty to carve out time to worship and spend time with the Lord on a daily basis. Keeping this as a priority item in our lives is the best way to prepare ourselves for the inevitable attacks of the enemy. It is here that God tills the ground of our hearts and shows us all the obstacles blocking us from growth. It is here that we access the power of God to use in our lives. It is here that we forget all the busy-ness of our day and focus on what God is teaching us. God is on our side, and He is waiting for us to access His power. And with God on our side, no matter how crammed the schedule, He is there to offer grace and help us overcome anything the enemy throws our way.