Combating Busyness

by | Aug 23, 2016 | Vital Men Devotions

busy-83-1184096-639x426Its that season when I fear my IPhone may either explode, or Siri may simply start screaming at me for overfilling the calendar app. Between taking on a new position at church, kids going back to school, my math teacher wife heading back to school, fall programming ramping up at church, and activities for out kids kicking back into high gear I’m preparing for a solid two months of living on coffee and Cliff Bars. I think many of us encounter these incredibly busy season in our lives, while others of you probably feel as if I’m simply describing your typical Tuesday. According to Psychology Today some of the side affects of an over busy lifestyle can include: fatigue, sleep problems, stress, increase in drug/alcohol abuse, depression, and many more. While its easy to say that the best solution to busyness is to cut things out of our lives, sometimes we are simply going to be busy. The question is: what can we do in the busy seasons of our lives to combat the negative affects of busyness?

Lets look at the example Jesus set for us. Jesus was constantly busy. He had disciples fighting for his attention, crowds of thousands flocking to him, the sick, poor, and afflicted asking for help, and religious leaders questioning his every move. He knew that his time on earth was incredibly short, and that he needed to maximize every moment. Yet, between all the sermons, healings, debates, fellowship, and miracles Jesus always found time for prayer. After the Pharisees try to have him arrested {John 7 }what does he do? He retreats to the Mt. of Olives to pray. Do you remember where the Lord’s Prayer comes from? It comes from the disciples seeing Jesus taking time for prayer and asking Him to teach them how to pray like that. Indeed, Luke 5:16 tells us that “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” When it is time for him to be handed over for death on the cross what does he do? He goes and fervently prays on the Mount of Olives {Luke 22}. See a pattern here?

Life is going to be busy, difficult, and stressful. The best resource we have to combat these challenges is spending time with God. Its something we have to make non-negotiable in our lives. Many of us would not dream of starting our morning without coffee, breakfast, or checking social media. Yet, we tend to take connecting with God through scripture and prayer for granted. We seem to have time for emails, text messages, fantasy football teams, political blogs, and ESPN, but not for our Creator and Savior. We need to change that. If Jesus could take time out of his schedule saving the world to connect with the Father, then I think we can too! This week, set aside time to re-connect with God. Share your joys, your struggles, your needs, your sins, your requests, and more. Let God fill you with the joy and hope to propel you through the busyness of your life this week.

VITAL Mission

Be part of the Vital Mission and commit to a regular monthly donation to help with the costs involved with supporting our Vital Men events and outreach in our communities.

Click the donate button below to setup your recurring monthly donation.

 

Sign Me Up!

  • Yes, I would like to receive the the VITAL Men Daily Devotion email. Sign me up!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

EVERY SUNDAY AT 8:30 AM

LISTEN TO MIKE ON KBOE 104.9FM

 

Listen Anytime Online:

Listen on Spotify
Listen on iTunes