The danger of being "too busy". I cannot remember where I read about it, was it the demon uncle talking to his demon nephew in C.S Lewis' Screwtape Letters? They were discussing on how they wanted to lure a girl, on fire and in love with God, away form Him. They wanted to distance her from God but figured she was already doing the job for them because she was occupying herself, keeping herself busy all the time. It's not that God doesn't speak anymore, it's that there is so much noise today that we don't hear Him as easily. It's not that God doesn't exist. It's that people never have the time, space, and silence to even think about God or the possibility of God at all. There are so many different sound waves in the air, it's just a matter of what we are tuning in to that matters. Do we let noise or work or negativity fill us up? Or do we allow the Word of God to do so? There is a seriousness in being too busy. Because whatever doesn't draw us towards God, pulls us away from Him. We must tune in and be conscious of the spiritual realm, and realise that there is a spiritual battle going on. The closer we are to God, the harder the enemy tries to pull us away. Because while God cares about our souls, the enemy only cares for numbers. Have we tuned in so much to the world that sometimes we allow ourselves to become numb?
Take for instance a mother and a baby. Pull the baby away from his mother and he cries, he clings, he is desperate to hold on to her. What do we do with babies like that? We distract them. We give them a shiny new toy. Something temporal, to fill that void for a bit. Something less significant than his mother. Something that grabs his attention instantly but never lasts. For a while, he is satisfied. But when he stops playing with the toy, he looks around and listens and notices his mother's absence. That's when he realises something is wrong and screams for her again.
So what distracts us? What is our shiny new toy that gives us a false sense of satisfaction? As long as there is resistance and we are struggling, we are okay. Deal with it. Now. The moment it becomes a habit, we settle for the toy and get comfortable with God's absence, that's when we should really begin to worry. But like a loving mother who rushes to her crying baby, all we have to do is call out to God and He will rescue us once more, as always, forever.
Ministry calls us to do, to act. We always compare Mary and Martha. But let's face it. We can't ALL be Mary ALL the time. We need Martha. We need people who put ministry in order. But we are neither only Mary nor only Martha, we have to be both. Different occasions call for a different role. You cannot abandon your duties carelessly. But realise when God wants to speak to you and be still. The only thing Martha did wrong was that she did not realise that Christ was already in the house. All she had to do was to be still and sit and His feet and listen. We prepare our ministry for God. We prepare our hearts for God. But sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in preparation that we fail to realise He wants us to be still and to listen. Be so in tune with the Holy Spirit that you know when to act and when to be still.
Again, I've heard/read this somewhere but I cannot remember its source.
God gave us 24 hours. If we have to sacrifice our time with God to fulfil other duties, or we find that we just cannot cope within that 24 hours, then there is something we are wasting our time on. Find out what that is. Let it go (no don't break into song).
This, after a long discussion with Melvin and a cute illustration of Shirley and Nate.