Be Still
I’ve been meaning to write a blog post about being busy and not being available for the things that God wants us to do. Ironically, the issue was that I was too busy to write it. I got caught up in work, school and trying to balance being present for my family, which is important, but nothing is to ever take priority over the things of God in our lives.
In his song, “The Way It Is”, Bruce Hornsby lays out how callous we can be when we are busy, we get so caught up in ourselves and what we are doing that we totally ignore those around us.
We can be busy doing a lot of things: work, school, kids, parents, travel, serving others, and yet neglect to be still and spend time with God. There is a time for everything, a time to serve and a time to recharge and we need to recharge, being busy 24/7 is not good.
There were times Jesus stepped away from the crowds, the followers, even His disciples so He could spend time with God. As we read in Luke 5:16, “But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.”
We needed time to recharge. As do we, I would imagine our military forces never go into battle without a good rest beforehand. Once the battle is over, they rest, and get ready for the next engagement.
In Luke 10:38-42, Mary and Martha made different choices. Mary made a good choice according to Jesus, while Martha took on the task of serving Him. She busied herself with ensuring her esteemed guest was taken care of, while her sister sat at His feet and learned from His teaching. Jesus makes it clear that He thinks Mary made the better choice, so should Martha just stop serving and sit at His feet? (See Luke 10:38-42)
Perhaps they could have taken turns serving and learning. We as the body of Christ should be able to recognize when our brothers and sisters need a break, perhaps we pitch hit and give them an opportunity to rest and recharge while we serve.
If the Creator of the Universe thought it important to rest, then I think this is an amazing example to follow. In Genesis 2:2, God rested on the seventh day: “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.”
Let’s get away from being busy all the time and ensure we take time to rest in God, so that we can be better prepared for what lies ahead.
CT