Life has a way of getting busy!
It seems there is no break in the schedule. Everything goes from peak activity to peak busyness. No valleys of downtime, only a constant flow of energy from one task to another, it’s almost a breathless pace with no time to break away.
In reality, life has a cycle, just like the season. There are times of cold and slow, hot and fast, and all those in between times that work hard at pretending to be busy, or not…
Maybe your week is like this. Monday pushes hard and fast to show everyone exactly how rapid the pace will be. Catching up with work from last week, and laying out the plans for the days ahead. New work piles up faster than old tasks are completed.
Then a new wrinkle shows up. You get a cold and the medicine makes you droopy, or someone calls and there is an unscheduled emergency that needs your attention. Maybe the car breaks down, a check gets lost in the mail, or the dog runs away.
One more stressor, just one more thing, and you know that proverbial camel will fracture. What do you do? How do you handle the load? How do you de-stress the moment?
How do you handle the stress factor when it seems just one more load will break the proverbial camel's back? Click To TweetIf you are anywhere close to this load of busy, then you should already be looking for the avenue of escape! A quick internet search shows you there are thousands of ways to take the stress off the moment. Maybe someone has experienced your level before, and maybe you’ll find some way of unloading the stress. But that will take a lot of trial and error searching!
But wait… Did we not just talk about the season of life? Yes… There’s some scripture that speaks to this and has made it through time to be applicable today.
To
A time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, And a time to die;
A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill, And a time to heal;
A time to break down, And a time to build up;
A time to weep, And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, And a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain, And a time to lose;
A time to keep, And a time to throw away;
A time to tear, And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;
A time to love, And a time to hate;
A time of war, And a time of peace.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NKJV)
What do we do to manage our busyness?
“One of the greatest attacks of the enemy is to make you busy, to make you hurried, to make you noisy, to make you distracted, to fill the people of God and the Church of God with so much noise and activity that there is no room for prayer. There is no room for being alone with God. There is no room for silence. There is no room for meditation.” ~Paul Washer
Perhaps I could simply stop here and get you to think deep and deeper about the busyness of your life.
When’s the last time …
that you spent a “Season” of prayer,
or being alone with God,
or shut off all the noisemakers,
removed all the distractors and detractors,
and simply made room for meditation?
Face it! Life is busy and each busy moments take a measure of stress to keep the balls juggled in the air before an amazed crowd
It’s sort of a Power Napping of the Mind in the midst of a busy time!
Some decades ago I was responsible for the 24-hour production operation of my companies data processing. Not the people, or the building, but the processing of applications that happened every day, all day. And all night. I had staff on every shift. At times it felt like the weight of the world rested on my shoulders. Especially when the dominoes start collapsing. You feel like you are alone, maybe not responsible for the collapse, but struggling to find out how to stop it.
Since those early days of adulthood I have been blessed to take on even more challenging roles. Some were successful, others only mediocre, and I’m sure there were a few failures along the way! But the point is that I never felt, nor feel, like quitting is an option! Somehow you gear yourself up for the next challenge, even when being dogged by the constant load that is on your plate to finish!
When you are not operating at peak efficiency in your life, then these struggles are made worse by the flux of multiple priorities. We’ve heard the old saying, “Happy wife. Happy life.” And while it is true that a spousal problem multiples the load, very few of us have the surety that the personal life never encroaches on the professional life. I’ve known folks who have had loved ones dying at home, and admirably they shouldered their load at work. Maybe they make a good show of it, but there are priorities we should never have to choose one as more important than the other.
Here’s my thought for today. You need to know what your options are that will give you the break you need as the stresses pile up. You need to take ownership of your own safety and find a port in the midst of storms. Safe haven. Solid anchor. Strong minds know how to weather the storm, but when the load piles up we easily get buried no matter the load we carry.
Be responsible.
Don’t break down.
Don’t fall apart.
Don’t break the camel.
Let’s look at scripture for a moment. It’s been 120 years since Moses was born. 40 years in Pharaoh’s house, then 40 years in the desert fleeing from a crime he had committed, and then 40 years of dealing with a stiff-necked people as God’s emissary leading them from their bondage. He’s reaching the end of his life and it’s time to finalize the preparations for the next leader. Joshua. God gives him the words to say, and he recites them to Joshua just before a final reading of the law, and his departure.
Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”
(Deuteronomy 31:7-8 NKJV)
I love to read about Joshua. He was a young man, maybe even a teenager, in Egypt, then he grew up in the wilderness, and was even a spy for the investigation of the promised land, you know, that place flowing with milk and honey. He was one of the two spies that said, Yes We Can! in the midst of the naysayers. Nevertheless, he spends his next 40 years in the wilderness and proves himself time and again as the right person to replace Moses.
Can you imagine with me for a single moment, and these questions are just the tip of the iceberg!
- How old is he when he becomes the Leader? His compadre, Caleb, is 85 years old after the fall of Jericho, and cries out, “Give me this mountain!” (Joshua 14:10-12)
- How Busy Is He? The constant need for providing protection from the elements, assisting with death and dying, birth and living, provisions for the health of the people and animals, being the voice of Moses as needed, and probably never finding a vacation to call his own!
- How did he handle busy? They did not have the downtime we take for granted of vacationing away from our responsibilities, playing in the sand, or escaping by taking a long drive with no noise. No. I believe there was something stronger at work to handle their busy lives.
- What does the backdrop of his life look like? Family needs alongside career requirements often create disasters within your potential future. Throw into the mix personal and health issues, well, if you cannot be involved with what God has called you to be involved with, then maybe your future is not what you think it will be.
In my mind I’m thinking these two spies, these two future leaders understood that what they were doing when they were young, and how responsible they were back then, makes them available in
When they were in their 80’s and both ready to take the challenge of life and victory to the next level, they had spent years preparing by not being in the limelight, but they were busy with everything they were involved with in. Responsible! Capable!
Caleb declares he is as strong as that day
some 40+ years ago when Moses sent him as a spy!
Their goal of the future was almost enough to keep them from being discouraged, fretful, and even overwhelmed. They had a greater vision and a far-reaching mission to prepare for, and they had no time to be overloaded.
Maybe this is part of my thought today. We yearn for that downtime that gives us a breather, but what do you do when you live in a world where there is no spare breath? When you are loaded down with the cares of responsibilities, how you do shoulder the load and keep moving?
How do you unload busy?
This promise to Joshua has shown up throughout scripture (Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:5; 1 Chronicles 28:20). It is even in the New Testament by an unknown writer penning the words that are as old as the Bible itself.
Let your conversation be without covetousness;
and be content with such things as ye have:
for he hath said,
I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
So that we may boldly say,
The Lord is my helper,
and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
(Hebrews 13:5-6 KJV)
The English language make not sound like the Hebrew language, but a more exacting translation is: “I will
That’s 5 negatives! Never, Not, Never, Not, Not!
Say it emphatically!
He will not abandon, depart or let loose of you!
He is there to Help you in your busy season!
Perhaps this is exactly what you need to hear today. Be content. Retrace that busy schedule, subtract those things that are wasteful and consuming all your time, and focus on what you need to make it through!
Time has a way of opening the doors of opportunity at the right time and not a second too soon.
How can I know this? I’ve spent time being too busy with ministry, career and earning a living that I almost missed my family’s need. No one spoke into my life and it was only after feeling like I had hit a brick wall that I reined in the busy schedule!
It’s crucial that you do not become so busy with life that you miss those things which are most important to living.
“It wasn’t until I slowed the car and rolled down the windows that I realized I spend most of my days driving ‘through’ life without driving ‘in’ life. So, I’ve decided to walk because the pace is slower and the windows are always down.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough
A busy life is not necessarily a productive life. I’ve been there, and I’ve learned that, and I am still learning that today!
Remember this! Just because you say you are busy does not mean all is well, and you are getting done those things you think are important. That’s something God knows about you and time will tell your profitability of over commitment.