“I’m so busy…” has become the catchphrase of our hectic times. We want to live our lives in a way that honors God, yet it’s so easy to get trapped in a place where we coexist with the tyranny of the urgent. Instead of taking each “emergency” as it happens and using it as an opportunity to grow, we simply try to get through it. Our lives can become a juggling act.
If we desire to honor God in every aspect of our lives, we must come to a place of balance. An even-keel approach is a healthier approach. Life is not a battle of the wills through which we must “soldier on” no matter how difficult things get. Asking God to give us wisdom, and trusting Him when life gets challenging, is a far more growth-inducing response than digging in to survive an onslaught. Getting worked up and anxious never solves anything.
Balance occurs when we prayerfully evaluate needs and commitments. Should we assist someone with their ministry simply because we were asked, and we feel bad for them? Or should we decline because that takes us away from our family for another night each week?
It’s important to grapple with such questions in an authentic way, staying focused on the current mission to which God has called us. To do so we must occasionally escape the frantic pace of life to connect with God and hear His heart for us. It’s what keeps us from straying too far off course.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. – Mark 1:35-39, NIV
Jesus could have spent every waking moment with needy people. But even Christ needed that time with God, that time to reflect and recharge. Instead of letting the busyness of life get the best of Him, Jesus maintained the balance He needed to fulfill the mission He had been sent to earth to do. May we also be so balanced in heeding God’s call.
