I’ve got to tell y’all something that happened to me earlier this week. Ok, so we’ve been working out in the yard for a couple of hours every afternoon lately. I was putting away the rakes one day and thinking about how much we’ve accomplished in just a couple of weeks. I thought to myself, “Wow, if we would just spend two hours out here every day, our yard would be in pretty good shape.” The Holy Spirit immediately spoke straight to my heart, “If you would just spend two hours with Me every day, your life would be in pretty good shape.”
In the age of fast-food, internet, and texting, we get used to the fast-paced life. Everything’s instant, jumping from one thing to the next. We get distracted and super-busy with things like school, church activities, helping our families, hanging out with friends, etc. Some of these can be very good things, but not when they begin to become distractions that keep us from spending time with our Creator. It’s like the Mary and Martha story:
38 “Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ 41 But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’” Luke 10:38-42 (ESV)
Martha was busy serving Jesus and wanted Him to scold Mary for not helping her. Jesus corrected Martha by saying that Mary realized the one thing that is really important – Him. Martha was distracted with much serving – did you catch that? That really hit me – she was distracted by serving! We aren’t told much about Martha in the Bible, but I think she might have been a lot like me. A lot of times, I get so busy serving God that I forget to just sit and listen to what He has to say. I have this tendency to think “Look at what all I do for God,” when I’m often not really doing it for God at all. I’m doing it so people will praise me, not so they will praise God. And that means that I’m doing it for men, and not for God. Ultimately, I’m focusing on ME.
So I guess what I’m saying is, let’s get refocused. Do we truly take great pleasure in just sitting and learning what God has to say? Let me tell you, there are many times when I don’t. I just want to hurry up and get done reading my daily Bible chapter so that I can check it off and get on with whatever else I have to do. But you know what? The Bible is the only book God has ever written, it’s His love letter to us, His bride! And it is how He speaks to us nowadays, so if we want to know more about what He has to say, we have to know more of His book! And what about prayer life? Don’t ask me for advice about that, because I will be the first to tell you, my prayer life is anything but consistent.
If we want to live a victorious Christian life, we’ve got to slow down and listen to Him. A fire will die down if you don’t add more wood to it. We are the light the world, but to keep the light burning, we have to refuel it – and He is the fuel. Does that make sense?
As wonderful as it is to work for the Lord, we shouldn’t let it distract us from spending time with Him. Yes, we are commanded to do good works in our Christian walk (Eph. 2:10). We’ve just always got to remember that the focus of our life is not so much on those we serve temporarily, but on Him Who we will serve eternally.