The Lies Of Busyness: Devotions From Time Of Grace

Day 1 of 5 • This day’s reading

• Devotional

• Psalms 39:6

Devotional

"My busyness pleases God.”

Look at my calendar and you’ll see a lot of stuff--deadlines, commitments, responsibilities. I’m sure some people would be impressed at all the “important” things I keep myself busy with.

In the United States, our society prizes busyness. “How are you doing?” our friends ask us. “Busy!” we reply, waiting for the sympathy or gold medal we think we deserve as a result of the chaotic life we’ve built for ourselves. Who cares if other people are impressed though? The question is, Does our Creator approve?

Why are you busy? What’s the point of it all? Psalm 39:6 sums up one of my greatest fears for us Christians in our hectic world: “We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing” (Psalm 39:6 NLT). Doesn’t that almost give you chills? Merely moving shadows. Busy rushing that ends in nothing. The last thing I want is for most of my life to be pointless in the scope of eternity, but the truth is that much of my busy rushing is pretty pointless.

Busyness by itself isn’t wrong, but busyness requires intention. Pray that God will guard you from pointless busyness and that if you are busy, that you’ll live busy with a purpose.

Day 2 of 5 • This day’s reading

• Devotional

• Luke 10:42

• Colossians 3:23

Devotional

“Work and ambition are wrong.”

“Mary has chosen what is better,” Jesus said in Luke 10:42 when he visited Mary and Martha’s home. While Mary was listening to Jesus, Martha had gotten distracted with housework. We Christians hear this story and often hang our heads in shame, heaping guilt on ourselves for being productive.

In the previous devotion, we looked at the problem that results from pride in our busyness. On the flip side, many of us suffer from guilt over our busyness as well.

The truth is that work is one of our God-given functions. Countless people praise God through various types of hard work. They use the intellect and circumstances God has provided them with to preach, teach, build companies, raise families, and on and on. Numerous Bible verses praise having a strong work ethic. Work or ambition in and of itself isn’t the problem. What the issue comes down to is heart, motivation, and priorities.

If our motivation is to serve God with our work but also make time with him our #1 priority, we’re on the right track. There’s a time to be still and to be in God's presence, and there’s also a time to work and get stuff done. In those times when we’re doing work, let’s approach it according to Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.”

Day 3 of 5 • This day’s reading

• Devotional

• Job 38:4

• Job 38:12

Devotional

“There aren’t enough hours in a day.”

Have you ever said something like that? I totally understand. Sometimes life feels like you’re running on a treadmill while someone keeps pushing the button to increase the speed faster and faster.

Twenty-four hours never feels like enough. If only we had more time! A couple extra hours a day would make all the difference! Or maybe an extra week to be able to catch up, right? (How do I know your thoughts? Because I have the exact same thoughts myself.)

The truth is that God will accomplish through you what he needs to accomplish in the time available. Our almighty God is the one who came up with 24-hour days after all. If God thinks that’s good enough, it is. I love the end of the book of Job when God challenges Job’s frustrations and puts him in his place for questioning God: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. . . . Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place?” (Job 38:4,12).

In other words, God’s the boss man and he knows what he’s doing. You can wish for more time, but you’re not going to get it. You can’t make your days longer. What you can do is your best and leave the rest in God’s hands. After all, if everything in life depended on us, no amount of hours would ever, ever be enough.

Day 4 of 5 • This day’s reading

• Devotional

• Mark 2:27

Devotional

“I don’t have time to rest.”

A couple years ago, I heard about how one of my former professors makes a conscious effort to seek Sabbath rest on Sundays. I was intrigued. How did she manage to “give up” so much precious time on Sunday and still get all her errands and cleaning and to-do lists done? I started reading up on the Sabbath and its value for today’s Christians.

What I learned surprised me. Numerous books and articles I read pointed to a biological need for consistent, weekly rest. Could it be possible that God actually designed our bodies to need a day off each week? Was the scientific evidence true--that mental and physical rejuvenation for one day a week actually causes people to get significantly more done in six days than they can in seven days when they don’t make time to rest?

Mark 2:27 indicates that the Sabbath is something God intentionally created for our good: “Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath’” (NLT). Jesus isn’t explicitly clear what those needs are, but we know that we humans need rest. We need refreshment. Most of all, we know that we need to stop and pause and fill our cups with God, even if it’s not on Sundays or for an entire day.

Making time to rest in the Lord can be really challenging, but the benefits of that rest are worth the effort.

Day 5 of 5 • This day’s reading

• Devotional

• Philippians 4:6

Devotional

“I need to fix this on my own.”

Now that we’re on the final day of this series on busyness, you might be feeling there are some areas of your life you want to change. You might be thinking that the solution is to somehow find a way to do better than you’re doing now--to set goals to spend your time more wisely, alter your thinking, or challenge your motivation.

When you think about how to actually make those goals happen though, your stress level rises. It feels daunting to think about tackling those overwhelming changes on your own.

Don’t underestimate God’s role in your busyness and the changes you want to make. Yes, you can make a lot of progress with strategic prioritization and some valuable time-management tips, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t turn to God for help. God invites us to come to him over and over throughout the Bible, to call on him in all circumstances. If you’re overwhelmed with the current state of your busyness, go to God. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6).

Ask God for his guidance as to how to move forward, for his wisdom in setting your priorities, and for his help in keeping your motivation in check. Remember that you don’t have to be perfect. God’s love for you does not depend on what’s on your calendar today. Enjoy peace and rest in that precious truth.