Wake up, walk dog, shower, eat, leave.
Drive to work, see my to-do list and jump right in:
Drive to work, see my to-do list and jump right in:
Meetings, filing, phone calls, planning events, booking events, finding Bible verses, games, writing messages...
Ironically, the first thing that seemed to suffer was my personal time with God. Recently I was looking through the book of Jeremiah and stumbled onto a section about God's case against His People. (Chapter 2:1-13) I started reading and got all warm and fuzzy as I read how the Lord described His people:
"I remember how eager you were to please me
as a young bride long ago,
how you loved me and followed me
even through barren wilderness..." [v2]
Awww. "Ya! That's me, that's me!" I thought to myself. But as I skimmed down the text started to show the contrast in the Israelites' behavior. It was in the middle of this description that I found something that stuck into me like a fork into a chicken nugget.
"The priests did not ask, 'Where is the Lord?'
Those who taught my word ignored me,
and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal,
wasting their time on worthless idols..."
In allowing myself to become so busy with ministry, I was missing something key-- waiting on God. This key was the difference between the young bride and the priest. In my busy-ness I didn't ask "Where is the Lord". I taught the word of God but ignored God. I acted like a prophet who spoke in the name of Leslie and I wasted tonnes of time trapped in my own head-- my own wisdom was my worthless idol.
Realizing this and struggling through it has made me re-evaluate what my "real" time with God should look like. In my mind, I'd spent"real" time with God if I thought ONLY of non-work related things. It never occured to me that I could incorporate personal time into my day at work. Meditating before I write a message can be included as personal time spent with God. Preparing to lead a Bible study by reflecting on scripture is personal time spent with God. I don't have to drill through these preparation periods with little to no meditation in an attempt to free up "REAL" time with God later.
When I skip the listening and I go straight to the doing, it ends up taking longer to plan things and I do the opposite of what I want-- to save time.
"I remember how eager you were to please me
as a young bride long ago,
how you loved me and followed me
even through barren wilderness..." [v2]
Awww. "Ya! That's me, that's me!" I thought to myself. But as I skimmed down the text started to show the contrast in the Israelites' behavior. It was in the middle of this description that I found something that stuck into me like a fork into a chicken nugget.
"The priests did not ask, 'Where is the Lord?'
Those who taught my word ignored me,
and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal,
wasting their time on worthless idols..."
In allowing myself to become so busy with ministry, I was missing something key-- waiting on God. This key was the difference between the young bride and the priest. In my busy-ness I didn't ask "Where is the Lord". I taught the word of God but ignored God. I acted like a prophet who spoke in the name of Leslie and I wasted tonnes of time trapped in my own head-- my own wisdom was my worthless idol.
Realizing this and struggling through it has made me re-evaluate what my "real" time with God should look like. In my mind, I'd spent"real" time with God if I thought ONLY of non-work related things. It never occured to me that I could incorporate personal time into my day at work. Meditating before I write a message can be included as personal time spent with God. Preparing to lead a Bible study by reflecting on scripture is personal time spent with God. I don't have to drill through these preparation periods with little to no meditation in an attempt to free up "REAL" time with God later.
When I skip the listening and I go straight to the doing, it ends up taking longer to plan things and I do the opposite of what I want-- to save time.
All of this to say: cutting corners to save time will leave you with a lifeless message a lifeless spirit and a longer work-day. Wait on Him.
3 comments:
That was great + so true!
Thats awesome how God like totally convicted you and you had the insight to see just how you were being like Israel and you know in your heart and mind that you need to change in subtle, yet meaningful ways. We miss you guys and we're praying for you. We know you wanted to see us and we understand that you were busy with ministry and we're so happy you're staying the the GTA.
LOL
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