Too Busy!

What’s on your schedule today?

As we start finding our way to a “new normal” following Covid, it seems that folks are trying to return to the full agendas and high exhaustion levels they experienced before everything shut down two years ago.

What on earth for?? Why do we feel the need to be crazy busy?

Significance

Many of us find self worth by filling our agendas with “important” things to do. When we can’t squeeze in any down time, we pat ourselves on the back for either being extremely productive or super needed.

Through Covid times of having to stay home, we missed those feelings of importance based on what we could achieve. Now we’ve started trying to scramble our way back to feeling significant again based on our activity level.

We forget that our worth is not found in our productivity or accomplishments, even when those accomplishments are on behalf of others. Instead, our worth is found in the loving gaze of the One who made us. He’s not waiting for us to fulfill our destiny through working hard, because He’s already done all of the important work for us!

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Romans 5:8 NLT

He paid the price to save us from the hamster wheel of trying to earn our worth before we even saw the light of day. What an incredibly high price He paid for you and me to be free! What could be worth more than the life of His Son?

YOU, my friend, are significant!!

Meaning

Not only do we try to measure our significance based on busyness, we fail to see any meaning in those times when we don’t have anything pressing on the schedule. We consider time not filled with activity to be wasted.

Wouldn’t you know it, God has something to say about down time! In addition to the numerous scriptures addressing the Sabbath and the importance of keeping it, I submit this passage for your consideration:

What the world may see as wasted time can actually be our most meaningful if we spend it correctly. Did you notice the first sentence in Psalm 23? That alone is worthy of a bit of down-time consideration.

1. We have Someone taking care of us, providing for us, protecting us, and leading us.
2. I, for one, am glad to be a sheep under this Shepherd’s care! Here’s a thought for you: what work do sheep even do? Nothing. We can’t work for our value in our Shepherd’s eyes. He does the work and we grow the wool under his care. Growing wool requires no effort on our part.
3. What do we need to work for? Think about all of the personal goals you have and things you’re striving for. What are they worth, really? The world equates abundant life with abundant possessions. Society tells us to work hard at becoming better individuals who rank higher on the social scale. To what end? Is that what we really need?
4. Our Good Shepherd leads us to times of peace and rest because meaning can be found there in His presence. The abundant life He offers springs from within, and is not tied to any thing apart from Him.

Precious Moments

If we find ourselves with a few minutes here and there not assigned to any specific task, maybe it’s a perfect time to remember this verse:

“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”

Psalm 46:10

Thinking on God and his Word requires a quiet heart and a quiet mind. It takes time and attention, peace and stillness. Which brings us back to Psalm 23: “He lets me rest in green meadows, He leads me beside peaceful streams.” When we follow our Good Shepherd, He provides us with opportunities to rest in His presence, and to contemplate Who He is as well as all that He has done for us.

The world offers temporary meaning and significance, but God offers eternal worth and value. Are you willing to make time for Him today, and let Him lead you to peace and rest?