And He withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed. {Luke 5:16}
I don’t know about you, but being too busy doesn’t make me happy. It makes me miserable, even when my busy-ness is something I want to do and I’m accomplishing the goals I have set up. Sure, at the end of the day I may feel like I had a productive day, and my goal oriented self might say I’m glad I wasn’t idle today. But at the end of the day, if I don’t have a moment with the Lord my soul starts to get miserable. I start to feel tired in my heart and in my soul and spirit. And if I continue with this for a couple of days more, I start to lose it. I start to lose my focus and my desire to be goal oriented. I can’t function anymore. I start to get depressed and start to be unhappy. I start to hate life and I don’t see the point of it anymore. In short, I hate being too busy.
Being busy is something we were encouraged to do from day one. I remember as a child getting dressed in the morning and being told to go run outside and play. I was probably only six years old and I was already getting kicked out of the house to go run and play. My goal then was to find a friend and play. And boy did I play – all day! I would only stop when I would hear my mother call me to eat lunch or dinner, and after that I was back outside again looking for my friends to join me and play. My mother hated to see anyone sitting idly doing nothing. I learned early on too that watching TV is a part of her definition of doing nothing. It was better she found you with a book than watching TV.
It seems to me that our society today glorifies in being busy. We love to say to our friends and families, “Oh, I can’t make it I’m so busy…” Or “I’m going to be busy that day it’s not possible…” Or “Oh, my gosh, I’m just so busy I don’t even know what’s up or down…” We say being busy so many times as if being busy is something to be proud of. But really, it’s not what God wants for us to be. He may want us to be productive and fruitful in our day, and He definitely does not want us to be lazy. The Book of Proverbs is loaded with scriptures against laziness. But at the end of the day, God wants us to rest. God wants us to be happy in our soul and in our spirit more than anything. He always wants us to take a moment from our day to connect with Him. In the gospels we see Jesus again and again take off to be alone and pray. He would leave His disciples and the throng of people that followed Him just so He could take a moment and connect with God. Here’s a scene where the Lord sends the people away and tells His disciples to go without Him so He could go alone and pray.
And straightway He constrained His disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while He sent away the people. And when He had sent them away, He departed into a mountain to pray. {Mark 6:45-46}
It is so important to take a moment to be with God. This is why God commanded us to observe the Sabbath and keep it holy. Resting with Him and connecting with Him is so important to the Lord that He made resting part of the Ten Commandments. He knew that if He didn’t put that in there we would stop at nothing. We would keep going and going and going. As it is, so many of us are guilty of going and going and going and never ever taking a Sabbath. Remember, our life here on this earth is very temporary. Nothing is going to last. If we’re not rich with the Lord and we don’t take the time to connect with Him and know Him, then we will lose it all in the end. What matters in the end is to be with the Lord and to know Him personally for ourselves. Even if you live up to a hundred years old, still either you will die or the Lord will come. The fact is no one is going to last forever. Our taking a moment to be with the Lord is the most important thing we can ever do in this life. Plus it will keep us from being harrowed and harried and empty in our soul.
Take a moment from your day. Make it a habit. Connect with God. Don’t be too busy that we forget what’s important in this life, our relationship with the Lord.
For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. {Philippians 1:21}
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. {Matthew 6:33}
With my soul have I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek Thee early: for when Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. {Isaiah 26:9}
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee. {Isaiah 26:3}
Prayer
Father, I thank You with all of my heart for Your boundless love and mercy that endures forever. My hope is in You Lord. I thank You for loving me and for forgiving me of my sins today. I pray Father that You will please forgive me for the many times I get too busy or too worried about pursuing the things I think are important to me in this life and I forget You. I know that sooner or later I will leave all these things behind. What matters is You in the end, Lord. Please Savior help me to always remember You. Help me to always take the time in my very busy day to connect with You, love You, and thank You for Your love for me. Help me to look to You for my strength and comfort everyday. Help me to always remember that You alone matters. Nothing else will last. Help me to love You always, I pray Father, in Your most wonderful and precious name, Jesus. Thank You, Father. Amen.
Rp11/2018:Take A Moment
