When my sons were in their teens some years ago, they launched and led a thriving Bible club at their high school. My family and I often hosted parties in our home for the kids involved with the club. On one of these occasions, my boys and I piled in the car and headed to the grocery store to buy some last-minute provisions. I was feeling rushed, agitated and ornery. And at one point, my nerves became so frayed that I actually closed my car door's electric window on my head. Now, you've got to be pretty frazzled to shut your own head in a car door window. But that's exactly what I did that day, and it was a much-needed wake-up call for me.

I remember hearing a godly man say that if the devil can't hinder our relationship with God by making us immoral, he'll simply make us busy. All we have to do is look around us today to see the evidence of this sad truth. And where has all of our busyness gotten us? For starters, it's made us more 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 making us less healthy, 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 God's way. The Bible says, "A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body." (Proverbs 14:30 AMP) Walking in the peace that Christ died for us to have will enable us to walk in the wholeness that is His perfect will for us. Besides costing us our health and peace of mind, busyness can cost us our God-ordained relationships. 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 will suffer. Most importantly, our relationship with God will suffer. 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 indicates 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 child of God has an earthly assignment and purpose, and it's up to us to discover it and perform it as we walk in close fellowship with Him on a daily basis. 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 meaningless.

If you are living an overly-busy lifestyle today, the Lord is calling you to make some changes, and 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) Today, spend some time in the Savior's presence and in His Word, and let Him teach you how to follow in His footsteps of purpose, passion and peace!

Prayer: Lord, show me how to restructure my priorities so that they will always be in line with Your will. Please don't let me live a life of busyness that will rob me of my health, my peace of mind, and my relationships. Thank You that as I give You first place in my life and live Your way, I will discover the divine destiny and fulfillment that belong to me in Christ!