Busy, Busy, Busy

  Well today is a post that I don't know if you need to hear, but I certainly need to write. My hope is that as I write, it will sink a little better into my own brain. This is a post that is based on irony because I am going to talk about being busy and, as I write, I am being bombarded with deadlines to meet for fundraisers and people clamoring for things they need me to do at the last minute. I am the kind of person that hates to do anything at the last minute and every fiber of my being longs to get to work on these deadlines and ignore this blog. But that is an impulse I am going to fight.
  We as humans, and Americans especially, love to be busy. We get to a point where even if we are sitting alone in a room, we will play with a phone because we have lost the ability to be still. The more we do, the more worthwhile we feel. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with putting your feet up at the end of a hard day and feeling good about the work you did. Hard work is a good thing and condoned in the Bible. We simply need a reminder of what is work and what is a distraction. We need our priorities to line up with our beliefs. The more I dig into Christianity, the more I see what some would consider paradoxes. Right now, I am telling you that you should work hard but not be busy. Some may see that as a contradiction, but it is actually a balancing act. And it is an act at which the Thessalonian church failed.
  The Thessalonians were excited because they believed that Jesus was on his way back in a hot minute. So what did they do? They took to waiting on the roof, watching for his return. They quit their jobs and stopped working, figuring there was no use if they were headed to heaven soon. And for this, they were reprimanded. In 2 Thessalonians 3:11, Paul addresses them and says, "We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy, but busybodies." Paul urges them to earn their keep, like he did. See, when Paul visited, he sold tents working hard so that he would not become a burden to anyone. Work is a good thing, so work hard and get things done.
  That being said, God knows how he made us. We are wired to where we need sleep and food. We are like engines, we need fuel and we need rest before we get overheated. That was the reason he gave us the Sabbath. In Mark 2, after Jesus and his disciples are picking some grain on the day that is meant for resting, they are accused by the religious leaders for breaking the law of the Sabbath. But Jesus turns everything around saying that the Sabbath wasn't made for God, but for us. We need rest. And he wanted to give us that with the Sabbath. He made the point ever more in Matthew 11 when he said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest" (vs. 28). But therein lies the kicker. We must go to him. Our rest is in Christ. Not in a game app on our phone, not in a TV show that allows us to zone out the troubles of the day. Those will not give you rest, they will give you numbness to the world. Rest comes from time with God. Look at the example Jesus set. He was bringing God's kingdom to earth. All he did was for the good of mankind, but sometimes, when the grief of John the Baptist's death got to be too much or he simply needed to be reminded of his mission, he left the people to pray. Sometimes, we need to say no to people and yes to God. You will not be as much of a help to someone if you aren't in communion with God, because if you are not deriving your strength from God, it is from yourself which means it will fail. So sometimes, we must say no to people so we can get right with God.
  Yet often times, God is the first thing we rule out when we have a busy day. He understands, right? Yes he understands busyness, but he also know that the best cure for exhaustion is him. So when we cross him off our schedule, we cross off the one antidote to the overwhelming struggle of busyness and exhaustion. He says, "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:30-31). God alone is the source of an insane, super-stamina that allows us to carry on when we know we should be far too winded. It cannot come from us, it only comes when we turn to him.
  So when you feel overwhelmed or too busy, cancel out the facebook time, the phone apps, the radio and anything else that does not depend on you. And use that time to garner strength from the only one that truly offers it. All the other distractions may do just that: distract you from your crazy life and the demands people make on you. Please know, it is okay to say no when too many things fill your plate, but God should never be on the list of what you say no to. Because only God fills you. He renews and restores. He strengthens and lifts up. He is the one who will keep you going because he alone is the source of life. So work hard, don't be idle. But to keep from being overwhelmed, rest. And when you rest, rest in God.