WHEN LIFE GETS TOO BUSY FOR GOD
Does this sound familiar? “I’m so busy!”
There are a million things to do and not enough hours in the day to do them. Worst of all, your spiritual life is a mess. You haven’t stopped believing in God. You just can’t seem to find the time to sit with Him.
How can I possibly grow in my faith when I can’t get control of my schedule?
The Living Room
Years ago, Robert Munger wrote a little book called My Heart, Christ’s Home. The book is a metaphor that imagines a person’s life as a house. In the story, Jesus moves into the house as a guest and goes through each room. He either loves what he finds in the room or offers to transform it.
One of the rooms Jesus loves the most is the living room. He promises to be there every morning for some quality time. For a while, the guy in the story shows up every day. He spends time with Jesus every day and starts to be transformed in incredible ways.
Then life picks up. The man gets too busy, and the morning routine eventually stops. He doesn’t even go into the living room anymore. Time goes by and the man even forgets that he has a house guest.
Until one morning, as he rushes past the living room on his way out the door, he glances in to see something surprising. Jesus. He’s just sitting there by the fire, waiting.
It hits the man, “Wait, Jesus was here the whole time. He has been here waiting every morning just like he promised, and I just ignored Him!”
He’s Been Faithful the Whole Time
Maybe it’s true that life gets busy and there aren’t enough hours in the day. It’s easy to put your relationship with God on the back burner while you try to keep up. In the short term it seems like the only way to keep your head above water. Ironically, it’s also the reason you feel like you’re drowning.
The Apostle Paul writes to the Ephesians: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” (Ephesians 3:16-17)
The word “dwell” means to settle in, to make a home, to set up a tent and stay.
When Jesus saves you, that’s the promise.
He doesn’t just forgive your sins and go on to the next person.
He moves into your heart as His home.
His willingness to dwell with me is one of the greatest promises in all of the Bible.
From that place he gives us strength and purpose. That’s His part of the commitment.
Remain in Me
We struggle with our side of the commitment.
Maybe that’s why Jesus says in John 15, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Another word for remain is Abide. He’s not saying, “think about me,” or “check in occasionally,” or “attend church now and then.” Abide is the language of presence and relationship. He’s saying, “Spend meaningful time with me regularly.”
Jesus has already prioritized you, but you must also prioritize Him.
A Confession
I’ve been the guy rushing past the living room.
There was a season when I just got too busy. Long hours and constant demands shrank my time with God to almost nothing. I told myself it would pass. I was a pastor, and I was doing Jesus stuff all the time. Surely that counted.
Can I be real? You can talk about God for a living and still feel distant from Him.
Proximity to ministry is not the same as presence with Jesus.
I’m happy to say that what brought me back wasn’t a mountaintop moment. It was the realization that He had never left me.
He kept His part of the commitment, but I had to keep mine. It was time to abide. I started making time with Him a priority instead of giving Him the leftovers. Day by day, He has transformed my heart once again!
I’ve learned that all the busyness in the world won’t give my life meaning. Plowing through life like I’m the source of all the answers is the quickest way to burnout and emptiness. It’s only through making time to meet with Jesus and learning to remain in Him that I can live out my greatest purpose.
These days, I tell myself on repeat: Brad, don’t rush past the living room.
Take Action
Get started this week. Choose a time and a place this week to meet with Jesus. Pause what you’re doing and talk to Him. Next, build that first meeting into a regular daily habit. Show up even when you don’t feel like it.
The living room is always open.
Jesus is waiting for you.
All for Jesus,
Brad D. Jenkins
P.S. — If this has been helpful, please send me a message at brad@bradjenkins.me and let me know. My writing aims to help people enjoy a vibrant relationship with Jesus, and it is an honor to be on this journey with you. To read previous newsletters or to sign up so that you don’t miss future posts, visit www.bradjenkins.me/blog.