Thankful for Trials?

We can rejoice too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirits to fill our hearts with his love. –Romans 5:3-5

Life is clearly not supposed to be a stroll down easy street. Many Christians think that they are being punished by God when they are having difficulties in life. It may actually be just the opposite- God wants the best for us and wants us to grow and mature so we can, in turn, help others to grow and mature. He does this by stretching us and by putting us in situations that are uncomfortable at times. It is during these times that we reach the end of ourselves and realize our need for Him to take over. God has been showing this to me lately and I want to share a bit of that with you.

We say “use me, God” but then complain when we encounter troubles. I recently read this passage from My Utmost for His Highest-

If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process, you will never be surprised by what comes your way.

So true! I have realized that I should not be thinking of myself when experiencing different situations in life. It may not be about me at all. Look for opportunities to grow. They are always there. You are going to go through trials. Don’t waste them and make them times of pointless, self-centered frustration- come out of them having learned something. 

The current sermon series at church is along these same lines. It is “The God Factor” and revolves around When you reach the end of yourself, you find the beginning of God. A great point from yesterday was that God made me for eternity, so he is willing to put me through some temporary things here on Earth to serve his eternal purpose. Jesus did not die a brutal death on the cross to give us comfortable lives of luxury on Earth. He did it so we could be restored to relationship with him, to glorify him here on Earth and spend eternity with him. 

A while back, I prayed genuinely that God would use me for his purposes and consequently began to experience strife on multiple levels in my life. Relationships that had always been great started to become difficult. Things that had previously been easy started to become challenging. I thought “what is going on?! Why is everything so difficult all of a sudden?” It is not fun to be in a time like this, but I realized that many things were being worked out of me. Pride that I wasn’t aware of was brought up and out of my heart. Selfishness was being exposed for what it really was. These times of difficulty brought out the things buried deep in my heart that were hindering me from growing and maturing in God. It is really something I am thankful for now, since I can look back and see how God needed to put me through those situations in order to make me useable in the future. Does this mean that I am perfect now and never selfish or prideful? Nope, but I can recognize those things quickly now when they start sneaking up on me. I learned that when you truly ask God to use you and work in your heart, he will do just that, and usually without any delay. 

So, if you are in a similar place and experiencing strife in your life, take a look around with a different perspective and try to see the opportunities for growth. Ask God to show you the things he may be working up and out of your heart in order to make you useable for his purposes. He is certainly faithful, and the temporary discomfort will be worth the eternal gain. As strange as it may seem, you will be able to look back and be thankful for the trials, and putting you through them was just another display of God's great love for you.

Struggling in the Current of Life

There is a natural current of life. I see it as a wide, dark, fast-flowing river. It has a powerful current that only goes one direction. On our own, we are powerless to resist the current. We may be able to tread water in one place for a short time, but it doesn’t take long for our muscles to fatigue and we start to slowly move down river with the current’s flow. We may even think we are remaining in one place, but when we look at the shore to evaluate our position, the current has actually moved us far from where we perceive ourselves to be. The river can deceive us in that way. By not doing anything to fight it, we end up wherever the current takes us. But by relying on our own strength we eventually end up exhausted, defeated, and overcome by the current. This sounds hopeless. Or does it? 

Acknowledging your own weakness and inability to make it on our own is the first step to finding the One who can hold you up out of the river’s powerful flow. You can think of it as being in God's speedboat and fully relying on His power and fully submitting to His direction for your life. Not struggling in the current on your own as your strength dwindles, but at peace and rest in a vessel that is guided by the One who loves you more than you can imagine and who knows where you should be going and at what precise speed. He alone can keep you from being overcome by the current. It takes a continual awareness and reliance on Him though, because as soon as you step out of His boat, you end up sinking back into the natural flow of sin and where that takes you- farther from Him and outside His will and the direction He wants you to go. Don't feel defeated though, because no matter how far down the river the current takes you, He is always within reach, waiting for you to climb back into His boat and trust Him to steer you in the right direction once again.

Are you struggling out in the current on your own, or do you have the peace that comes from relying on God and His perfect will for you?

Unintentional Favoritism / Alive or a Corpse? – Thoughts on James 2

We’ve all done it. Positioned ourselves near those who seem to be more powerful, have more money or influence of some sort; tried to befriend someone for a selfish reason. I think this comes naturally to us because we are naturally selfish and want to do things to get ourselves ahead in whatever way we can. This is our default plan of action if we aren’t consciously striving to follow Jesus’s example instead of our own desires.

 My dear friends, don't let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, and you say to the man in the suit, "Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!" and either ignore the street person or say, "Better sit here in the back row," haven't you segregated God's children and proved that you are judges who can't be trusted? (James 2:1-4, The Message)

  I can see this happening today- the well-dressed folks (who appear to have it all together) sit front and center in church, and the rough looking character in the back gets shady looks from those around him… The problem here is that God tends to look at things quite different from the way we do.

 Listen, dear friends. Isn't it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world's down-and-out as the kingdom's first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God. (James 2:5, The Message)

To avoid favoritism, I have to ask God to help me see others with His eyes. It’s easy to slip up. When I notice myself starting to look down on or judge certain people, the warning bells go off that I have not been sharing in God’s heart for His people and it’s time to hit the reset button.

 The next part of the chapter deals with faith and works and how they fit together. Some people might interpret this section as saying that works are what actually save us, but I think they are misunderstanding what James is saying. I like this image that I heard a speaker discuss recently- she said that “faith is the root and works are the fruit”. Faith has to be there first, it is unseen, but nevertheless growing strong underground. The roots are preparing for growth of the tree and the production of fruit. If the roots are strong and doing their job, the rest of the tree will be strong and it WILL bear fruit. Scraggly, old, dried up roots cannot produce delicious, juicy fruit. Likewise, strong, thriving roots will not yield shriveled-up, rotten fruit. It is a natural process- one follows the other. If our faith is strong- built on knowledge of God, experiences with Him, and we are following through in living our lives for Him, there will be results. We will naturally do good works. They will flow out of an authentic faith. This is different from the idea that works will save us. That would be seeking out things to do to earn God’s love. That is backwards and unnecessary. (and impossible!)

There seems to be three types of faith that James talks about in this chapter. The first is an intellectual faith:

 Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? (James 2:14-17, The Message)

 Come on now, how many of us have told someone “I’ll pray for you!” and then never actually did? Our intentions were good, but they were only a thought and never materialized into anything real. (If there was an emoticon for a guilty face, I would insert it here.)

 The second is a type of faith that involves belief and emotion:  

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that —and shudder.(James 2:19)

Obviously just believing there is a God is not enough. The demons know that and they shudder at the thought. Someone can believe in God and get warm fuzzy feelings from time to time, but that does not indicate a saving faith.

 The third Is a dynamic faith- this involves our intellect, emotions, and our will:

  Wasn't our ancestor Abraham "made right with God by works" when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn't it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are "works of faith"? The full meaning of "believe" in the Scripture sentence, "Abraham believed God and was set right with God," includes his action. It's that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named "God's friend." Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works? 

 The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn't her action in hiding God's spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse. (James 2:21-26, The Message)

 The mesh of believing and acting; that is what makes our faith alive. Separate our faith and our actions, and all you are left with is a corpse. I didn’t notice until writing this that James’s use of Rahab as an example of true faith also ties in his point from the beginning of the chapter about favoritism and judging people on outward appearance. She was “The Jericho Harlot” and still a great example of dynamic faith. I like that connection. This can be a wake-up call for some of us- I don’t want to be in the category of people who are all words and no substance, and I certainly don’t want to be lumped in with the demons. I think it is important that we continually examine our lives for “fruit” and be aware of the fact that authentic faith will produce authentic fruit.

Some Thoughts on James 1...

So, I have been thinking about authenticity and spending some time in the book of James. Here are some random points that stood out to me in the first chapter:


-Trials are good. They mature us.

-If we don’t know what we’re doing, ask God. He loves to help and will give us wisdom if we ask confidently.

-Our circumstances in life can change in a split second, so don’t put a lot of value on “stuff”.

-God doesn’t tempt us. Temptations come from within ourselves because of our sinful nature.

-Listen well, speak slowly, and be very slow to anger. We can’t operate in God’s righteousness if we are constantly wielding an angry tongue.

-Act on what you hear. True faith always produces fruit. Genuine faith produces genuine works.


Do any of these stand out to you? Have you learned any of these lessons the hard way, or are you in the process of learning one now?

What? Trials are good? Yes, they can be! When we are being challenged, we are forced to put it all on the table and exercise the faith we have. This exercise makes faith stronger just like when we physically exercise muscles. If you sit around all day in comfort, and have everything you need brought to you on a platter, what happens? Your muscles, your sources of strength, get weak and flabby. We shouldn’t have flabby faith, and it is hard to keep it strong if we never have to use it. Make sense?


In the midst of a trial, do you ask God for wisdom and help? I am continually asking for wisdom in how to parent my 3 year old. I certainly don’t know what I’m doing on my own, but I do know that God gave that child to me and He will also give me the knowledge and ability (and patience!) to raise Him as I should. The tricky part is remembering that and being continually aware of the need to rely on God instead of ourselves.

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. (James 1:5)


As far as life’s circumstances changing in an instant, we probably all know someone this has happened to. Maybe it had even happened to you. A sudden job loss, devastating medical report, financial disaster…all these things can and do happen, which is why we shouldn’t make a “comfortable” life the thing we strive for with our whole hearts. All that stuff will be gone someday anyway, right?


Have you heard people make comments such as “God is tempting me” or “God is testing me to see if I fall for it”? v.13-15 tell us this isn’t true-

13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Our interest in sin comes from within us, because we are sinners. And it can be a slippery slope- starts with a little interest, we think about it more and more until it seems ok, then we go ahead and do it and that path leads to nowhere good. The more time we spend immersed in things that don’t please God, the more numb we grow to it all and it doesn’t seem so bad anymore. TV? Books? Music? Other media? Certain friends? These things all have a profound influence on us, but we usually don’t realize it at the time. You can think “Well, this movie isn’t TOO bad. There’s only that one part that is bad… every good movie is like that these days.” True, most movies are like that, but just ask yourself “Is this pleasing to God?” Be careful not to dull your sensitivity by constantly being immersed in things that are not pleasing to Him.


Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God's righteousness doesn't grow from human anger. (James 1:19-20, The Message)

This is fairly straightforward. Just a reminder that we should be good at listening, slow to speak, and quick to keep a handle on our tempers! I’m sure you know someone who flies off the handle at the slightest thing. Do you associate their behavior with God’s righteousness? Probably not. We should be patient and understanding with people so they can see Jesus in us. Anger certainly blocks that light from shining through.


And now for my favorite point from the chapter- act on what you hear-

Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. (James 1:22-24, The Message)

I like the comparison to someone who walks away from a mirror and forgets what they look like. If you forget who you are when you are not looking at yourself, you aren’t very familiar with yourself at all, are you? I’m sure we have all come home on a Sunday afternoon and immediately forgotten what the sermon was about that morning- I know I have. Even if it was a great sermon, if we don’t make a point of actually doing something with the information, it is useless to us. Put it into action so that someone can grow from it and be helped by it.

Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world. (James 1:26-27, The Message)

All talk and no action? This passage is a good reminder to examine our lives for evidence of “real” religion. It’s easy to say the right things, but a lot more difficult to take action and actually do something. This can be a test that reveals the quality of our faith- true faith always produces fruit. Is there fruit in your life? Here’s a challenge to take some time and really examine things and make some changes if needed. It’s so easy to get caught up in our everyday routines and responsibilities and forget what kind of life God wants us to lead. I think that can be the worst place to be sometimes- a life of comfort and luxury. Everything is going great, so why do we need God? That’s an easy lie to believe. Sometimes being in uncomfortable, desperate places are good places to be because we are reminded of our need for dependence on God and His work in our lives.

These are just some random thoughts on James 1- anything else stick out to you as you read the chapter?

An Authentic Life

Authenticity. One of my favorite words. It means something is truly what it appears to be. The real thing. Nothing forged or fake. Not deceiving. If something is authentic, I also tend to think of it as strong, enduring, and an example to other like things. Authenticity signifies something as valuable. No one wants a knock-off. We want the real thing, not an impostor.

In my BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) class, we are currently going through the book of James. The title of this week's notes is "Authentic Faith." Good, good stuff. The book is an easy read and packed FULL of all those practical how-to's on living an authentic life as a Christian. As important as doctrinal details are, how useful are they if we don't know the first thing about how to apply them to our lives and our relationships with other people? Who wants to know everything in their head and never apply it to their heart of their life? That leaves a person burnt out, dry, and empty of the fullness of life God actually has for us. There's way too many people currently living that way. So much good stuff is just sitting there for us to take and put into action. What will it take for us to actually DO IT?

Coming up soon, I'd like to share some of the points I'm learning through this study. Hopefully, it will also encourage you to examine your life for authenticity and make adjustments in areas that are, eh, not so genuine. I found plenty in my life, that's for sure. Some of it might sting a little, but in a good way. :)

If you'd like to follow my thoughts and notes on the book of James, give it a quick read so you are more familiar with it, and watch for my next post that will go into more detail about chapters 1 and 2.

The Problem With Hypocrisy

Hypocrites- people love to hate them. They ruin the reputation of the group they are associated with. Unfortunately, the occasional hypocrite brings much criticism upon Christians as a whole. Those who are unfamiliar with what Christianity is all about are especially disgusted when they see someone preaching one thing but doing another. I am saddened to see so many people completely write off the Christian Church because of random things certain people do, who may or may not even be true followers of Jesus.

One of the main problems is the confusion between hypocrisy and sin. Hypocrisy is sin, but not all sin is hypocrisy. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines a hypocrite as:

1: a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion, and 2: a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.

Hypocrisy is saying one thing but doing another- putting on a mask to have an appearance of righteousness, but actually being rotten inside. There have been people like this throughout history; this is nothing new. Evidence of this occurring in New Testament times is in the Book of Matthew, among other places. These three verses are from Jesus’ sermon on the mount:



2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. Matt 6:2

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. Matt 6:5

16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. Matt 6:16



Makes me wonder what their “reward in full” was…



The hypocrites of Jesus’ time liked to look good in front of people and appear the most holy, but had no real substance on the inside. He knew that and called them out on it. He had some pretty harsh words to say to the Pharisees in Matthew 23. The Pharisees were an elite Jewish sect, intelligent, and well-studied in Mosaic law. They placed great importance of following every detail of the law. Here is an excerpt:

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. 27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (Matt 23:25-28)

Hmm… beautiful whitewashed tombs on the outside, but smelly, rotting corpses on the inside. Yuck!



Now, let’s differentiate between hypocrisy and sin. Some people misunderstand the whole point of being a Christian and they think Christians are supposed to be perfect. If we had the ability to be perfect, Jesus’ dying on the cross for our sins would have been pointless! We were sinners, are sinners, and will continue to be sinners until these bodies are buried in the ground. The difference is, we are now held blameless for those sins because of Jesus’ sacrifice. The Christian life should be a process of growth and sanctification (the process of becoming more and more like Christ) but we will not achieve perfection in this life. As we allow Him to work in us by His spirit, sanctification happens. A Christian struggling with sin is not a hypocrite unless they profess to be something other than they are. Those of us who know Jesus are continually aware of our sin.

Paul even said it in 1 Timothy-

Here’s a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I’m proof—Public Sinner Number One—of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off—evidence of his endless patience—to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever. (1 Timothy 1:15-16, The Message)

Another good one out of 1 John:

8-10If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God. (1 John 1:8-10, The Message)



The damage a hypocrite can do to the message of Christ is obvious. The awareness of someone practicing hypocrisy in the church is disgusting. It puts a sour taste in the mouth of unbelievers and turns people away. It can make a bad name for those who are actually striving to follow Jesus. What are we to do about it? It seems that we are supposed to let God take care of it in due time, according to this parable Jesus told-

24-26He told another story. “God’s kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too.

27“The farmhands came to the farmer and said, ‘Master, that was clean seed you planted, wasn’t it? Where did these thistles come from?’

28“He answered, ‘Some enemy did this.’

”The farmhands asked, ‘Should we weed out the thistles?’

29-30“He said, ‘No, if you weed the thistles, you’ll pull up the wheat, too. Let them grow together until harvest time. Then I’ll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and tie them in bundles for the fire, then gather the wheat and put it in the barn.’” (Matthew 13:24-30, The Message)

So, it looks like He’s got it all under control; there are always going to be those few weeds that spring up. Our job is to be the best “wheat” we can be.



The main point I am trying to make is that our faith should not rest on other people and their actions. We shouldn’t base our beliefs on what someone else does or doesn’t do, or claims to do but actually does otherwise. That would be elevating other people to the level of God. We are only responsible for ourselves and our own hearts before God. There are plenty of hypocrites out there. Just because a Christian is struggling with sin does not make him or her a hypocrite. The best place for a sinner (all of us) to be is the church body- a place for spiritual nourishment, prayer, worship, study, and fellowship with other believers so that they can grow and become more like Christ together while living out the purposes he has for us. The church is not a building full of perfect people, it is a living organism, made up of the people themselves, the “body” of Christ, those who believe and follow Him. Our bodies are made up of individual cells that all work together as one body and the church is the same way. We are each a cell, on our own rather ineffective, but can become something amazing when we are linked together with many other cells for a larger purpose.

It's Raining Cats and Dogs!

Just sitting here thinking about what to write, and my mind is circling around all of the problems people around me are currently having. Health is a major one right now. It seems like everyone’s family is currently affected by some type of illness. We are in our fourth week of various sicknesses…four or five completely different things happening one right after another. (Mostly to me!) Honestly, this has started to wear on me and I could definitely use a long stretch of health to get recharged!

Health is not the only issue though. Multiple friends have some pretty serious issues of other sorts going on around them. Does it seem like we go through long stretches of smooth sailing and then seemingly longer stretches of being bombarded with troubles? It can seem that way to me sometimes. And when that happens, it’s not only to me, but many people around me as well. Or, perhaps it just seems that way because I am more alert to it because of my own situation.

Thinking of this, I am reminded of a picture I sketched out many years ago- visualize a crowd of people in a wide open space. Thunderclouds are approaching and there isn’t any large man-made structure around to seek shelter beneath. The people start moaning and complaining about the fact that they are about to get drenched. When the rain starts falling, it falls on everyone, but wait…some of the people have umbrellas! They are not large umbrellas that can open up over multiple people; they are individual sized ones that can only be beneficial to each person who is holding one. These little umbrellas pop up here and there throughout the crowd and the people underneath them, although it continues to rain on them just as much as the others, they have a shelter. They have something that covers them when the rain starts to fall. It is not something they mooch off of their neighbor, but their own individual source of comfort and protection in the storm. Amidst all the discomfort around them, they can stay warm and dry.

My point in this is that it rains on all of us. If you are human and you are on this earth, you will go through stormy times- times when everyone around you seems to be getting drenched in the rain and the slop that comes along with it. The difference is, although we all get rained on, we don’t all have to be left out in the rain, exposed to the cold, the sogginess, the hopelessness…the moaning and groaning about the storm that has currently formed overhead. Those of us who believe and follow Jesus have our own little personal umbrella at all times that we can pop open and take shelter underneath. Sometimes the umbrella might be difficult for us to open at first. The hinges may squeak and be a little stiff and rusty from lack of use, but they are still strong and functional. This umbrella doesn’t leak and it is always readily available.

The apostle Paul wrote some powerful words on this topic. He knew what he was talking about because he went through some serious hard times! Here are just a couple-

We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken. (2 Cor 4:8-9, The Message)

He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too. (2 Cor 1:4-5, The Message)

So as I continue to ponder the various circumstances befalling myself and my loved ones, I am going to remember the image of that personal-sized, but strong, umbrella that is covering me and thank God that He is so loving to make it available to me instead of allowing me to get washed away by the storm.

Oh, and keep a lookout for the sun because the rain can only last so long!

The Business of Busyness

I can’t stand being busy for very long. Down time is something I need in order to stay sane. It is in those times of being free from activity and commitments when I can hear myself think. In today’s culture of “Go Go Go!”, it is so easy to go through each day running around everywhere doing everything you feel like you should do, while not doing anything that has lasting value.

How is it that we can stay so busy running around doing so much, and yet do nothing that has eternal value? I call this state “busyness” I think busyness is the default mode we fall into unless we are intentional about what we use our time for. It's like being on one of those moving walkways at the airport- just going with the flow, relying on external energy to move laterally when we should be using internal energy to climb stairs and make a vertical move. There are many things we know we should do, like spending time with God everyday in prayer, studying the Bible more, spending time with a friend who is down, etc, but we make excuses and say “I just don’t have time for that, maybe when things slow down.” The truth is, we are all given the same amount of time and we aren’t ever going to get more than we have right now. It is the management of that time that we need to work on. As we procrastinate making the changes we know we should make, more time slips away…

We always make time for the things that are the most important to us.

When’s the last time that you went over a month without getting groceries? How about watching the most recent episode of your favorite TV show? Going to the gym or out for a run? I know people who get up while it is still dark outside to exercise every day. (Yes, they are crazy. But they are in better shape than I am, so, eh...whatever.) What we do with our time reveals the priorities of our heart, unfortunately. We always seem to have enough time for the things that are important to us. This is because we make the time. Sometimes this can be very convicting when we start to examine exactly what we do with all the minutes in our day. How much time is spent on social media sites when you add up all the moments throughout the day? I’m not saying Facebook is bad (I love Facebook!) or watching TV is wrong, but consider exactly what it is that you do with all your minutes in the day before you use the excuse “I don’t have time”. We have the time for what we are called to do in our lives. God has given us the time. What are you doing with it? Are you coasting along in default mode and just ending up in front of the computer or the TV when you get a moment of free time? What is it that you wish you had more time for? How can you be intentional about fitting it into your daily schedule?

Be intentional

Perhaps an awareness of what you actually spend your time doing is all it may take for you to make some needed changes. For others, it will take a plan- an intentional way of doing things. I know for me, having two small (and very active!) boys around the house makes any quiet time in the day impossible unless I plan it out. I used to think “Well, I’ll see how the day goes and if I get a moment to myself, I’ll go ahead and read my Bible for a while then”. I think I just heard a collective chuckle from all you moms out there. Yeah, I went months without reading my Bible while having this mindset. Something always came up. The truth is, I wasn’t making it a priority to do any studying. Planning ahead and yes, getting up early (ugh!) is the only way to make quiet reading time possible in this house.

Simplify

Some of us are just way too busy. We see something come along that seems fun and beneficial so we go for it. The problem with this is that spreading ourselves too thin prevents us from putting a whole lot of ourselves into any one thing. A phrase I remember from a long time ago- “It may be a GOOD thing, but is it GOD thing?” God knows how much we can handle and he has already equipped us for what He has called us to do. Just seek Him and find out only what it is that He has for you to do and get rid of all the other stuff weighing you down. That seems too simple, but that’s it. Nothing else to say about it.

Certainly, there are responsibilities we have to take care of every day, but let’s examine our priorities and make sure we aren’t getting too busy for God. I like the below verse- maybe I should start out every day by reading it!

Romans 13:11- But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. (The Message)