I have allowed myself to get pretty busy these past two months and slightly overwhelmed, always moving on to the next thing. With finals at school, birthdays, helping to plan a retirement party for a wonderful French professor (such a blessing), receiving two scholarships at the city college I study at (praise God, Hallelujah!), the normal work and studies and precious family time. We often fill every waking hour with plans and to-dos.
I have come to the realization that being too busy can be bad. I am already one to struggle with time management, organization, staying focused, and prioritizing. People have different “busy” thresholds, and I’ve learned recently that mine is low. Compared to many people, I have a ton of free time, time for R&R, I get plenty of sleep, I have nothing to complain about. But I’ve learned that putting too much on my plate is not good. I know I’ve been in places in my life where I’ve let myself become so busy that when I finally did stop to take a breather, I felt guilty for not being on the go. It felt unnatural, like the momentum from the hectic times before was pushing me to keep going and keep my mind racing. It’s just not healthy for my mental state to be constantly moving and rushing; I need to have a quiet, alone space to just BE still. There is a reason the Lord instructs us to honor the Sabbath.
Be still, and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10
“Busy” can become somewhat of an idol. Always on the go, never stopping to rest the mind and allow the Spirit to direct us. Being busy is really tempting because it makes us feel useful, and being “productive” feels good, in a task-master sort of way. Getting things done, checking them off lists. Feeling accomplished. Taking advantage of amazing opportunities. The devil isn’t in our meetings, our kids’ soccer games and running errands, but he is the master of disorder, discontent, and pulling us away from the Lord. We weren’t made to fill our lives with so much stuff that we can hardly think of anything other than the next thing on our schedule. We are easily distracted and can drift away from our first love if we’re not careful.
I ask myself about the things I am busying myself with. Is this Kingdom-minded? Will I be a blessing to someone through this? Is this only for my own self-ambition or will He receive glory in this? Even the things that are for Him, is this where He has called me to be?
Most importantly, where IS God? Is He in our rushing through traffic, struggling to get things done, juggling too many committments?
“Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”
1 Kings 19:11-12
The Lord is in the soft, still voice of the Spirit. He is in the quiet moments with His Word, reflecting on His promises.
…when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.”
Psalm 4:4
When Jesus was in the home of Mary and Martha, Mary sat at His feet to listen to what he was saying, while Martha was overwhelmed with doing everything:
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:41-42
Though some people can handle more of busy-ness in their lives than others, I think God calls us to really think about what we are spending our time on and to pray about the things we take on, because being with Him is always most important. He doesn’t want us to be lazy and fruitless, but I fear that the busier we get in this life, the easier it is to lose Him without even noticing we’ve fallen away. We must remember Him always, love Him first, reflect on His goodness and His promises, and rest in His everlasting love.
Remember those earlier days after you had received the light…
Hebrews 10:32
And all you ever wanted…only me, on my knees, singing, “Holy, holy!”
Somehow all that matters now, is, you are holy, holy.
Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:
He bustles about, but only in vain;
he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.
But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.
Psalm 39:6-7
My Heart's Overflow 
Thanks for the reminder that God is heard in “a still small voice.” Have a blessed day.
Well said! Great post and it is very fitting for what my daily life has been like recently. Thank you and God bless!
This is so true and “the world” puts a value on “doing” and “going” and “busy-ness” whereas God does not. I never read those verses in 1Kings before…thats good.
Thank you. A thousand times thank you. I’ve learned that it is only when I stop, shut up and listen that I can really hear God’s voice. And when I am living the love of Jesus, I can see Him all around me. I have always loved Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven.”
Keep your eyes on Jesus and your ears open to God’s voice.
Reblogged this on The Road Less Travelled and commented:
A great blog post from one of my followers. You may want to keep an eye on this girl. She has a heart so full it’s about to burst.
Yes. So good. “Let us strip off every weight that slows us down…we do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus.” That really says it all! Thank you so much for the amazing compliment. 🙂
You’re welcome.