Too Busy!

“I’m just so busy”

It’s a common complaint of so many people.  We are running harder and faster than we need to.  Everyone seems to complain about it, but no one seems to really do anything about it because we are too busy to realize that there is another way.  After all there is always another tweet that needs posting, meeting to attend, person to talk to, movie or TV show to watch, phone call to make, or blog to write.  We go in to the office early and then stay late so that we can afford the gym membership or electronic toys that we don’t have time to use.  We are so busy, but are we really accomplishing more or just doing more?

Out of control

That’s the way we feel, out of control.  We keep ourselves so busy that we can’t mentally process everything that’s going on in our lives and as a result it feels like life is spinning out of control.  We do more, but sometimes accomplish less which makes us feel like we need to do more.  And the cycle continues.  Along with that the very things that were meant to make our lives easier like cell phones and the internet have made us so accessible that we can’t find a place to hide, rest, or think.  So, we fight through another call, meeting, or errand with increasingly less productivity and joy.  Something has got to change.

Abide in Me

Believe it or not, thousands of years before this problem engulfed our lives Jesus gave us the answer.  He simply said, “Abide in me (John 15:4 KJV).”  You see, the first thing we tend to neglect when we are busy is time with Him.  Like a branch that has been trimmed from the vine, when we cut ourselves off from Him we begin to die from the inside out (verse 6). We need Him and the power that comes from staying close to Him.  That is what abiding is all about, unplugging from the world and plugging into Him.  When we do we have the unlimited power of the God of the universe at work in every aspect of our lives.  As a result we are able to bear fruit, or accomplish more (verse 5). 

Simply put we will accomplish more if we will do something that on the surface sounds a little crazy.  Take some time out of your already busy day and spend it with God.  Put work, school, and everything else away for a few minutes and commune with your Creator.  It sounds unproductive, but the promise from His own lips is that if we will stay close to Him He will fill us and give us what we need to be more productive with the rest of our day.  It will also bring control back to a life that was spinning out of control. 

How?

The Sunday School answer to “how is this done” is prayer and Bible study.  That’s what we always say and, as it turns out that is what He wants.  Jesus said if we will obey His commands we’ll remain in His love (verse 10 NIV).  The only way to obey His commands is to learn what they are through His Word and prayer.  Taking time out of our busy day to read and pray is what abiding is all about; talking and listening to the One who created us and knows how best to navigate through the craziness that we have created in our lives.  So, take a few minutes each day to Abide in the His love.  Pour your heart out and listen to His comfort.  Communicate with the one who can bring order into the chaos of your world, and has the power to sustain you through the twists and turns that you encounter every day.  He promised that if we will spend some time with Him, He’ll help us accomplish more with the time that is left in our day.