The Busyness Of Life

Most people did not know how busy and tired and exhausted they were until they were forced to stay at home due to COVID-19.  The abundant life Jesus came to give us, is not the life we always embrace.  The enemy convinces us that we need to be busy.  As Christians there can be a driving need to busy ourselves by “doing” what all good Christians are supposed to “do”.  No wonder Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

That abundant life Jesus came to give us, is often eluded if we don’t find our rest in Him.

In the midst of our busy lives, our Christian duties, and particularly in the times we face today, we are to come to find time to come to Jesus, receive the Living Water that only He can provide, enjoy the Bread of Life, our “daily bread”, in order to be replenished, revived, restored, before we become exhausted.  Some of you are already exhausted; you may even be experiencing “quarantine fatigue”.  You need to stop what you’re doing right now and come to Him and receive His “rest”.

In my devotion recently (I Hear His Whisper), the author put it like this:  God says, “Life is busy enough without you feeling pressured with religious duties….I haven’t handed you a list of things I don’t want you to do, or a list of things to do (italics are mine).  Life with me is not a life of bondage and duty.  Life with me is free and beautiful.”

Jesus came to give us abundant and eternal life by setting us free – free from sin – free from death – free from religion – free from legalism – free from duty – free from guilt weighing us down when we are not “doing” what we think, or others think, we should be doing.

One person wrote:  “ Have our lives become so loud that we can’t hear what God is saying in the moment?  What keeps us from being attentive to the Spirit’s leading?  The busyness of life deafens us.  Technology overstimulates us.  Sin sidetracks us.”

The enemy wants to rob us of the abundant life Jesus came to give, by making us feel just guilty enough that we busy ourselves and allow the noise of all that is going on around us to prevent us from spending time with Jesus and receiving His “rest”.

• How is the enemy trying to rob you these days of the life Jesus came to give? 
• What are the signs that you are too busy doing and not just being? 
• Where can you sense you are running on empty or perhaps running on fumes? 
• Where do you need the Living Water and the Bread of Life to replenish your heart, soul, mind and body? 
• How can you position yourself today – on a walk, sitting in your backyard, in your “prayer closet” – in order to let God fill you up?