For a long time now, I’ve been consumed by an overloaded schedule and a lack of creativity and ideas.
My head was full again.
Arrgghhh, this is still a real weakness of mine; I’m always inclined to run ahead of myself, running, dashing, and flying in all directions. Like a headless chicken, and before I know it, God is back in the waiting room of my life, waiting for His turn, as I wrote before on the blog “God, hold on“
But… thankfully, there is hope. God has given us the authority to step on snakes and scorpions (Luke 10:19), and all those ideas and creativity are super cool because I know it’s something God has given me, only it wasn’t His plan for all that creativity to run away with me, so to speak, LOL.
And at this point, it did.
That Sunday in church
My head was full again! So full that I barely had time for God, reading His Word, or hearing His voice.
Like a derailed steam locomotive, I was racing along my tracks. I’d already realized things weren’t going very smoothly; I was starting to overflow and become exhausted… Yep, it was happening again; I’d gotten distracted and was doing everything on my own. Zero structure in my days and zero time for God…sigh!
When am I going to learn this?!? It was God who had told me months earlier that I needed to find rest; I’d even quit my job to do it! But now, six months later, I was still running.
This is what the enemy does: distract us and keep us occupied…he even manages to keep us occupied with things FOR God so that we have little or no time WITH God.
Until that one Sunday in church.
I was having a pleasant conversation with the woman across the table from me. I’d seen her before, but never spoken to her. We started chatting, and she asked me what my territory looked like. I sighed and confessed that I was having a hard time making time to sit at God’s feet.
Her eyes lit up, and she said she had a word for me: “To what extent does finding structure in your day have to do with not wanting to let go of control and letting God take charge of your day?” she asked me point-blank, got up, and walked away! I was left in tears; she had hit the nail on the head.
I’ve fallen back into a cycle of doing everything on my own!
In the days that followed, I pondered the words, but stubbornly, I didn’t act on them. I wanted to, but I was completely lost as to how.
And again, God used someone to get my attention: my dear husband.
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 8:38-39
The fourth morning after the woman’s message at church, my husband returned to my bedroom early in the morning after his quiet time.
He woke me up and said, “I have it on my heart to tell you this: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Your head is so full; you have all sorts of ideas, good ideas, but also worries. When will you finally start at the beginning: seeking God? It’s a lie that you don’t know how to return to Him, because His Word says that nothing and no one can keep us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39). Nothing can stop you. Seek God today; it’s truly necessary“.
Right after he left for work, I put everything on hold to take my time with God, to start my day with Him.
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” - John 10:27
I want to encourage you with this: spending time and nurturing your relationship with God is so incredibly precious. It is the most valuable relationship in your life because everything flows from Him. We need Him so much! I, too, realized this all too clearly, grateful that He called me to Himself twice, grateful that He spoke through this woman and my husband, and grateful that I hear His voice (John 10:27).
Are you filling your days and fulfilling your responsibilities on your own strength? Then return to the Source today; start your day with Him!
