Busy ? Be Still !

Jumping from meeting to meeting, scheduled back to back; Keeping track of updates almost every other minute; working with a constant pressure to perform well; this has pretty much been life in the last one year. In the midst of all this I realized how my priorities got mixed up and I let slip away the more important or rather the most important thing !

In-spite of the busy weekdays God has enabled me to serve in ministry work among young people in different parts of the country. Often my weekends are more packed and busy than the weekdays. Before long I realized how I was facing a burn-out and that there was something missing, until I came across this very familiar scripture passage that each of us would have read many times – Jesus visiting Mary and Martha.

The fact that Mary chose to “Be still” sitting at Jesus’ feet, forgetting about all the other seemingly important work that kept Martha busy, earned her the approval of Jesus. We need to understand that waiting in God’s presence to hear from Him, to be sensitive to His voice, is far more important than all the worldly things that seem to fight for our attention.

I found that when I dedicated the best part of the day, first thing in the morning, to spend time alone with God, it not only strengthened and prepared me for the day but also enriched the whole day. Things seem to automatically fall in place when priorities were set right. As a child of God we need to honor Him with our time.

Martin Luther, when once asked what his plans, for the following day were, answered: “Work, work, from early until late. In fact, I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”

If anyone was busy, it was Martin Luther. That guy was leading a spiritual revolution! He was preaching, writing, pastoring, translating the Bible into German, being a dad, and being a husband. He was incredibly, overwhelmingly busy. His calendar was always full. And yet, in spite of his incredible workload, he found it absolutely necessary to pray. He had to meet with God before he met with the cares of the day. He would not dive into his day without first being refreshed by the Lord. He knew that he couldn’t serve the Lord well without first asking God for help.

Would you chose to meet God and “Be Still” in His presence everyday ?