Are you too busy to enjoy your Life?

We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it. Psalm 39:6 NLT

A godly man once said... “if the devil can't hinder your relationship with God by making you immoral, he'll simply makes you busy.”

All we have to do is look around today, at our families, friends and colleagues to see the evidence of this reality. And where has all of our busyness gotten us? For starters, it's made us very tired. Very often, our busyness cuts into our sleep time, and when we do sleep, we don't enjoy the quality of sleep that our bodies really need. Scripture bears this out when it says, "Being too busy gives you nightmares." (Ecclesiastes 5:3 NLT)

Our busy lifestyle is affecting our health, too. We push ourselves past the point at which our bodies and minds function properly, and we often suffer for it with headaches, stomachaches, anxiety and depression. This is not the way God wants us to be living. The Bible says, "A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body." (Proverbs 14:30 AMP)

Besides costing us our health and peace of mind, busyness can seriously impact our relationships... with God, with family and with our brothers and sisters in Christ. When we are feeling rushed, pressured and preoccupied, we are destined to mistreat the people around us. As a result, our relationships with our spouses, children, parents, and friends suffer. Most importantly, our relationship with God suffers. A wise man once said, "If you're too busy to spend time with God, then you're too busy!" If we don't spend regular, quality time with those we love,including God, our relationships will be shallow, meaningless, and unfulfilling.

The Bible tells is that we will eventually answer to God for what kept us busy while we lived on this earth. Scripture says: "For we must all appear and be revealed as we are before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive [his pay] according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil [considering what his purpose and motive have been, and what he has achieved, been busy with, and given himself and his attention to accomplishing]." (2 Corinthians 5:10 AMP)

We must ask ourselves, "What am I giving my attention to? What keeps me busy?" And we need to ask the Lord, "What do You want me to change? What would You have me leave alone?" Jesus told His disciples, "We must work the works of Him Who sent Me and be busy with His business while it is daylight." (John 9:4 AMP) Notice that the Savior said that WE must be busy with God's business. Every believer, committed to serving God has an assignment and purpose, and it's up to us to discover it, embrace it wholeheartedly and perform it as we walk in close fellowship with Him on a daily basis. King David wrote: "My life is no longer than the width of my hand. An entire lifetime is just a moment to You; human existence is but a breath. We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth for someone else to spend. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in You." (Psalm 39:5-7 NLT) David recognized that his life on earth would be woefully brief, and that apart from God it would be completely meaningless.

If you are living an overly-busy lifestyle today, the Lord is asking you to make some changes. Be encouraged, He doesn't expect you to make them alone. He says: "Come to Me. Get away with Me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace." (Matthew 11:28,29 MSG)

Begin Today... spend some time in the Savior's presence through prayer and in His Word, and let Him teach you how to follow in His footsteps of purpose, passion and peace! Embrace the lifestyle He has designed for you and enjoy your life!