Finding Time for God in Our Busyness

It was 4 p.m. and I was in the DMV. Entering the front door I almost decided to go back out because the place was full of people. But I heard a woman's voice asking, “Can I help you?” I said, “I need to renew my car registration.” Then woman said “Get a number and take a seat.” After sometime long enough for me to get restless, a woman’s voice came over the intercom, “Now serving number 319 at window 9.” So I stood up and went to window 9. Only to realize that they only take check and I don’t have my check book.

I wonder with our busyness through ever increasing connections everyday, how do we find time to serve God?

Thanks to Facebook and MySpace, we now have connections to more friends more than what we can handle. We also have an explosion of information where, with Twitter, you get informed with anyone’s activities anytime and quicker and more personal than any news service.
How do you think do all these affect us and our time with God? (see Luke 9:22 and Mark 12:30).

I asked this question from the 68 fans of AACC in Facebook and waited for their response. You know what? Not one responded!

I guess, God-topic is not as exciting as Farmville or Yoville? In today’s Social Networking Generation, God has to take a number to get served, especially if He does not respond right away to our Facebook posts or questions. We are so used to almost instant responses now that anyone who does not respond or interact with us right away gets “Hidden” or worse “defriended.”

How does our busyness affect our relationship with God? Here’s what I have noticed:

1st. Distracted, unable to focus and give our best consistently to God.
2nd. Miserable. When we know too much concerns but remains powerless to change our situation, we tend to become miserable. The wisdom of the Sage in Ecclesiastes 1:18, tells us this, “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.”
3. Enslaved. Unable to give God any time because we are in debt to serve or pay for our cravings.
4. Mediocre. We tend to give God the least of what we have, the remnants of our strength and abilities. We tend to give him the common instead of the exceptional. When we go to church, we wear our run down clothes instead of our for runway, better clothes, which we willingly wear going to work or parties. We give him $1.00 tips instead of our tithes.
5. Confused. We come to church like we’re the doctor instead of the patient. You know, in clinics, we wait for the doctor to call us. But in church, we let God wait for us. We tell him to tell us in advance if He wants us to serve Him.

Coping with the Busyness of Life

Let me ask you something: How many of you here today have busy lives? How many of you wish you could slow down and replenish your spirit? And renew your strength? That was the question asked in a CNN poll. And 59% of all Americans answered by saying, "Yes. I wish I could slow down. I wish I could cope better with the busyness of life."

Read about one busy day in the life of our Lord in Mark 1:29-38, to find the source of His strength and ability to stay focused on his goal to serve the LORD.

Mark 1:29-38 (New International Version)

29As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
32That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33The whole town gathered at the door, 34and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place 35Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"
38Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."

Next time, we'll learn about the three keys on how to find time to serve the Lord even in our busy schedules and to actually succeed.

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