Too Busy Working

Who’s not busy? We all have things to do – too many things! Many of us also have set some kind of goal or what we feel like is a “higher calling” for our lives. Basically, we’re busy, and we make plans. I want to share two things I was reminded of this morning concerning these areas.

 

First of all, let’s look at our business. Are we busy doing the right things? In Luke 10:38 – 42 Martha was really busy, too. Instead of applauding her efforts, Jesus told Martha that really only one thing was important. It was what Mary had chosen. Mary had chosen to spend time with Jesus. In this case, (as it always does) it meant letting something of lesser importance go in order to make the time. We can’t do everything? What is God asking us to let go to spend time with Him?

 

In Psalm 27:4 (AMP) David said, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and delightful loveliness] of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple.”

 

The first words of that verse stung me, “One thing!” I ask God for tons of things! If I only asked one thing would it be to know God more? It was followed by another sting – if I spent more time just getting to know God better, then a lot of the other things I pray for might resolve themselves. Some of them might have never happened in the first place. That haunts me a little.

 

Next, what about our goals or the plans we are making? This is where I really fall short! As a matter of fact, that is why I’m so busy. I’m trying to work to accomplish the dreams that I believe God put in my heart. We do whatever it is we do for some sort of reason. Hopefully, we are trying to follow out God’s will for our lives, but even then we can get out of balance.

 

For me, the improper balance comes when I’m not seeing enough progress in a certain area. If I don’t feel like enough is happening – even if it’s God’s will – I try to help it along. This usually comes by some sort of work in my flesh (increasing my stress, frustration, and workload) to make something happen in my time instead of God’s time. Here’s where my favorite two verses from Psalm 27 (AMP) come in:

 

“13 [What, what would have become of me] had I not believed that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living! 14 Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.”

 

In my Bible, verse 13 is in a box, and I have circled “wait” and “hope” in verse 14. Between these three verses from Psalms 27 (4,13,14), I feel like all of my business/prioritization struggles are solved. I have to know God. That is the higher calling for all of us! Because that is the most important task I have every day, I must rearrange or trash anything else that would hinder it. Next, I have to stop creating things to do while I wait for God. That time, too, should be replaced with getting to know Him better. Instead of working and whining, I will expect God’s goodness while I learn to wait on Him and His perfect timing just as David did.