I meet with a plethora of clients through my busy weeks and I sincerely enjoy each of them. However, as happens so frequently in this ministry, one client recently has reminded me of a significant truth. As this individual has shared with me over several months, I have been amazed at the pace with which this person lives life! Working two jobs (one of which requires a great deal of travel), pursuing another college degree, managing the home and several teenagers with all of their various needs and activities, as well as a marriage and the daily activities of life, listening to this person’s story, I was exhausted! For myself, I cannot imagine living life at such a hectic pace. I would not be able to function at my best if I lived at that kind of pace.
It is apparent that many of us living in this age of complex economics have been forced to do less with more on the career front as many companies are cutting to bare bones. We are expected to multitask to the point of (sometimes) exhaustion, both mental and emotional, whether on the cell phone, laptop, Blackberry, in meetings, working overtime, etc. I’m left asking myself if our life styles are terribly healthy when we live at such a rapid pace. At my age and through many seasons of poor choices, I have recognized the gift of knowing my own limitations! I know I need to be still.
I need quiet. I need time in which I can sit and process my thoughts and emotions good, bad or indifferent. I want to invest deeply in the relationships of the people closest to me, my husband, my children and their spouses/fiancées, extended family, and precious friends. That investment requires time and energy. I need self knowledge to know when to say, “No.” I endeavor to identify what God is calling me to pursue and I must be willing to sacrifice the extraneous, not to the point of emotional detriment, but definitely weeding out those things that are going to drain me of the needed energy to be emotionally balanced.
Psalm 46:10 commands us to “be still and know that I am God…” When I am still, I see God more clearly. When I am still, I have a much clearer vision of myself and therefore my limitations. I can rest in the fact that He is God and I am not! He is in control and I don’t have to be in control of anyone or anything but myself. That in itself is enough work! I don’t need to take on anything more than what He is calling me to do. When I am still, I find my relationship with Him is deeper and more satisfying. I am able to bask in His love for me, filled to abundance! Then I can pour out that love to the people He places in my life. I thank Him for my limitations and my joy is overflowing! I am still.
How true, the rapid pace of our society is not very conducive to setting aside time to slow down, read the Bible, pray and meditate on God's Word, yet these activities ought to be the daily priority of every Christian; it is the primary way God leads us in our sanctification. Just as physical nourishment is essential to physical life, spiritual nourishment is essential to spiritual life, our growth in Christ depends on it!
ReplyDeletePraise God we just need to read the gospels and see how our Lord lived and interacted with all sorts of people, from the disciples who truly loved Him, yet were weak in their faith, to the masses of people who were mesmerized by His miraculous acts, yet many of whom never believed in Him, and to the religious hypocrites who pretended to want to know Him, yet always wanted to kill Him.
By studying Christ's life in the Scripture, we can observe how He interacted with people and we can gain great insight into how we can live as He did. Jesus said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"
Everything in our lives hinges on God. It is always best when letting go of less inportant priorities to follow Jesus example, obey Him, and trust Him wholeheartedly.
When we trust first of all in ourselves to meet our needs, this only reveals a lack of faith and rests on the false assumption, the satanic lie, that our earthly well-being is our most crucial need. Jesus contradicts such thinking, which is so natural to fallen humanity, both to unbelievers as well as believers who slip into carnal mind-sets. Therefore our Lord quoted Deut. 8:3.
Praise God the all-sufficient and sustaining power of God is the only true source that meets our every need!
Wow - what a post! It is a great one to read as I feel my life spinning out of control with all the "demands" in my life. As always you give my great food for thought (and no calories :D ) Thank you my dear friend.
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