Or maybe I should ask...how burdened are you? It feels the same, doesn't it? Recently, I was at Beth Moore's conference in Lubbock, TX. On the second day, she went into the audience to ask what we'd discovered about ourselves from her first session. One lady stood up and told Beth that she'd come to the conference at the end of her rope. (She began crying at this point.) She was overwhelmed with life's problems and didn't know where to turn. Beth wanted to pray over her and over other women in the audience who felt the same way, so she asked those women to stand. I was as astonished as she was when nearly half of the women of the 7000-person crowd stood to their feet! In fact, "Oh, wow!" escaped my lips before I could check my mouth. It was astonishing to me that so many women were hurting so desperately.
Why am I talking about that kind of burden when I'm talking about busyness? Because I believe busyness contributes to our burdens. We are stressed-out people!! We meet ourselves coming and going and if we have children at home, the burden of busyness increases. But what if you are doing some of it to yourself? Are you saying "yes" when you should be saying "no?" Are you trying to afford your child every possible opportunity when they'd be happier (and probably more blessed) with some simple time with you? Are you feeling responsible for things which God has not called you to carry? Are you, like I found myself, in jobs which God hasn't called you to and which don't fit?
Years ago, I read the little pamphlet entitled The Tyranny of the Urgent. I found it here. I urge you to take the time to read it--it will be 15 minutes well-spent and may just hand you back some of the control you've lost. Just know Satan will do everything in his power to cause you to stay in the endless cycle of busyness. We're constantly hearing lies from him of how we need to be doing more. If we take time out to rest, he tells us we need to get up and get busy. He makes us feel guilty if we don't volunteer at church, at school, at work for extra hours or if our children don't have everything and every opportunity the neighbor kids have. He knows how to motivate us to get us in over our heads--physically, financially, emotionally and especially, spiritually! And just remember as you are reading Tyranny of the Urgent...Charles Hummel wrote this in 1967...before computers, cell phones, and everything technology brought with it. Whether we like it or not, technology has increased our busyness.
I'm praying for you...for me...for all of us. I'm praying we begin to listen to God to know what He's asking us to do. I'm praying we finish well and can say before our death, "I've finished the work You've called me to do." I'm praying we know. That we know what God is calling us to do and that we do it well. It's time for some satisfaction instead of a long list of guilt-induced accusations because we haven't gotten everything done--things which we were never supposed to do in the first place. I'm praying for empowerment by the Spirit of God and pure fulfillment and joy--as we do the things we love and the things we are called to do!
"As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said. But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. “Master, don’t you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand.”
The Master said, “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.” Luke 10:40-42
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