Always in a Rush: Part Five

Communion of Saints: Be Helpful

When was the last time you went out of your way to help someone else? When was the last time you talked to someone new? Organised a church/fundraising event? Visited someone who was lonely or sick? Volunteered to be part of a committee? Complimented someone for his or her contribution to Bible study or church life?

Recently I forced myself to do an activity that, difficult as it was, taught me a lesson about service. If you remember primary school maths you should be able to do it. Draw yourself a pie graph that represents the amount of time you spend in a normal day or week doing the following activities: sleeping, daily work, eating, personal leisure, devotions, family time, and helping others. If you don’t wish to do that, then please do yourself a favour and at least think about it. How much time do you spend helping other people? There are many forms that this help can take, but what is important is to realize that we spend a lot of time on ourselves in comparison to others. Can we spare additional time for others?

We should be spending time in the service of others, showing the love of Christ, helping the cause of His kingdom. There are many ways in which we can be involved in God’s church- we are called to be ‘living members’ of His congregation. Are we? Think about your congregation- do you know everyone? Do you help others with their needs? Sometimes all it takes is a phone-call, flowers, a meal, a card, a chat after church or club, a quick coffee, a sincere ‘How are you going’… The list could go on, but the point I wish to make is that it doesn’t have to be time-consuming. The time it takes to do something small is trivial compared to what it might bring that someone else.

We should also invest time into the mutual encouragement of one another, especially amongst the youth in our congregation. Bible study clubs are important in this regard, as they not only allow us to study together, we are also able to socially encourage each other and enjoy fellowship. How much time do you take to do pre-study? To be ready to encourage, help and discuss with others the Word and works of our God? Is youth club a priority for you?

Helping others within the communion of saints is a valuable, God-driven, purposeful use of time. Am I going beyond the realms of the intentions of my article here? I hope not. It is one of the practical ways that within the rush of life, we can make a difference. I also wish to point out that however short or small an activity might be it could make a lasting, important difference. A difference that shows the love we ought to show to one another. That shows who we are as thankful citizens of Christ’s kingdom. That shows we are using our time to fulfill God’s purpose. May God help us to be community-driven for His church.

Living without Worry: Be Balanced

Having said that there can be times when we should look more to helping others, we also need to be careful. Rushing around, being busy, and filling our lives too many roles/responsibilities can lead us to becoming worried and stressed, as we have little time for our own thoughts or for God. We shouldn’t make ourselves too busy, to the point of exhaustion, stress or breakdown- herein lies the term ‘priorities’.

When we are rushed, we are constantly looking to the future moment, what will happen next, or how we might handle the next situation. “I’m so busy next weekend, my social calendar is full, and I’m not going to be able to clean my house or bake a cake for those Sunday visitors!” It logically leads to worry. But worry doesn’t get rid of tomorrow’s troubles; it only takes away today’s strength. If we take on too much baggage, and fill our already busy days with more responsibilities we will only lead ourselves down a dangerous path. So how are we supposed to cope? We need to find a balance.

Finding balance in life is difficult. When do we say yes? When do we say no? When do we create opportunities, or when do we have to decline? Joanna Weaver puts it this way: “We were created to say an enthusiastic yes to the call of God in our lives… (but) At the same time, it’s important to remember that saying yes to God doesn’t mean saying yes to everything! When our lives are overbooked, it’s easy for us to become spiritually dry and undernourished. We can barely hear God’s voice above the busy noise”[1].

So, when do we say yes or no? That is a question with too many variables for me to answer for all of you. All I can do is answer it for myself. We need to think about it individually. Planning ahead helps, but don’t plan too far ahead that it becomes burdensome. Ask yourself: Am I too worried? Are my commitments too great that they are dragging me from glorifying God? Have I got the right balance? Just like when a child first learns to ride a bike, it takes courage, effort, reflection and practice. May God help us all to find that balance in our lives. 

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[1] Joanna Weaver, (2000) Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, Waterbrook Press, p180

Always in a Rush: Part 4

I’m sure you were all looking forward to the next part of my article regarding time, and so were disappointed when every time you checked my blog, it wasn't there. My humblest of apologies. So, do we move on? No, you need reasons. Okay, I don’t have a reason, only an excuse. And it’s rather ironic… I ran out of time. I’m sorry, alright! I suppose I could keep apologizing, but that doesn’t really change the result.

The point I suppose this makes is that it’s hard. When I was writing this article, I also needed to reflect on my life and my use of time. What happened to my priorities? Yes, sometimes things get in the way. And it’s not easy to make sure we have time for everything! In fact, I don’t think we ever will have that time. But what we do need to do is ensure that our use of time is God-driven, focused and useful. So, how does that play out in a practical sense?

The biggest problem with time is that we don’t have enough of it. Or do we? In this second part of my article on time, I wish to draw your attention to how we might practically create a balanced life in relation to our use of time.

Devotion and Meditation: Be Meaningful

Growing up in a Reformed household, I have been taught and shown from a very young age to spend time in devotions, and most of you would have experienced the same. Within the Free Reformed community, Bible reading, prayer and psalm-singing is a frequent and regular part of family/church life. But how do we spend that devotional time? There is a vast difference between muttering a quick prayer and communicating with God in a deep and meaningful way.

Our devotion time is one of the most important parts of living as a grateful believer. God wants to commune with His people, and He desires our prayers and worship. How can we fulfill our created purpose of glorifying God if we don’t know who He is? If we can’t voice our thankfulness? If we can’t gratefully set aside time to communicate with Him? Devotion time has a meaning, and so we must make it meaningful.

Sometimes it’s difficult to find time to spend meaningful time in devotions. Taking the time to meditate on God’s Word is not always simple, and it’s easy to forget or brush aside. Sometimes all we have time for is a quick prayer, or we’re falling asleep before we get to the end of our nighttime Bible passage. Other times we may forget, particularly if our routine has been interrupted. Yet it can easily become a habit to ‘forget’. Even if we don’t forget, it’s sometimes hard to find the time every day, amidst the rush of daily life. And this is where I come to one of the original reasons for my article. Why is it difficult to find time to study God’s Word and pray?

So, what does meditation mean? Here are some questions you might ask yourself after reading a portion of Scripture. What does that Bible passage tell me about God? How can I live tomorrow differently with the knowledge I’ve just learned? How can I show my love for Christ more clearly based on that devotion? These are only some examples, and maybe you have more.

Have you got a devotional book, or a journal? These can both assist in either helping us to meditate or helping us to write our thoughts down. To make your prayers more meaningful, take something from your meditation to pray about, and then your prayers will not be the same standard list of requests that we might fall into.

A logical conclusion, then, is that we need to make our devotions relevant, purposeful and God-glorifying. How might we change our life so that it becomes a blessing, not a burden, to spend time with our covenant God? May God help us to communicate meaningfully with Him. 

The Sunday: Be Restful

God also gives us time to rest. In a society where everyone runs out of time, Sunday can at times seem like a burden. It can seem like a waste of time, or a day when there are so many things we “can’t” do. But God knows that we need rest, and He ordained, already from creation, a day of rest. Jesus illustrated this after His disciples returned from teaching and preaching. He told them to “’Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while’. For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat” (Mark 6:30-31). We are blessed to receive a day of rest each week, every Sunday. Sometimes it’s good to pause and think about that. We often take Sunday for granted, or perhaps even complain about it, but there is a reason God gives us rest- we need it!

Sunday is a special day set apart for His glory. Of course, this does not mean we can do what we like for the rest of the week (LD 38). But how do we use our rest time? Our purpose for being on Earth doesn’t stop on Sunday. Do we spend quality time with family and friends? Do we discuss the sermon or Biblical matters? Do we read Reformed magazines (obviously you do J) and literature? Do we take time out from our daily lives and do it in joy? God gives us time to rest, and also this time should be used wisely.

Putting aside our daily work, or setting the Sunday apart as a “special” day, isn’t always easy either.  Checking sport scores, watching our favourite TV programs or doing our homework or can seem like a better use of our time than resting, meditating, or spending quality time with family. I use these examples as a way of highlighting how I have seen sin creep into our lives. Our boundaries of self-control are pushed, and our minds are dumbed as we make more excuses about those ‘grey areas’. Are our Sundays, days to remind us of our calling throughout the rest of the week, restful as God intended them to be? May God help us to use the Sunday as He has given it. 

True Friendship: A Meditation

** This post was written at whim, without any thoughts towards grammatical conventions or posting it on my blog. But seeing it’s been a while since I’ve posted, herewith my thoughts: a meditation. 

God has given me three families. Biological, church and friends. Admittedly, they are all related (only laugh if you actually get the joke). Nevertheless, I am so thankful for the friends I have. Where would I be without them? Sounds idolatrous? In a sense, maybe. Am I not fully trusting in God? But that’s where I am grateful for His provision! Yes I trust! Yes, He is great and the greatest in my life! To acknowledge that without friends I would be a different person, and perhaps a hopeless case, is also acknowledging my thankfulness for God’s control: He knows what is best for me, He will work for my good, He is the One who provides for me!

Life would be really lonely without friends.

All those sayings about friends are meaningful, but friendship is more than sayings. We make our own sayings, but sometimes we simply don’t say them. Sometimes things can be left unsaid, because we feel them instead.

When I spend time with my friends, I always come home joyful. Whether it’s because we’ve spent time laughing or time in deep conversation, there’s something special about true friends. God has given me friends, and that’s one of the greatest blessings in life. People were created to develop relationships with each other, and friendship is one of those. For me, personally, I need conversations. Ones where I can let my teacher jokes run wild, and ones that are more intelligent or meaningful. Ones where we just laugh or talk about life, and ones where we share difficulties or concerns and help one another. But to me, there needs to be a balance. For me, a true friend will get that.

To me, a true friend is someone:

Who accepts me for who I am.

Who enjoys my company and says so.

Who I don’t have to pretend for.

Who spontaneously invites me over or out.

Who loves and cares without judgement.

Who can point out my weaknesses and help me overcome.

Who will ask me ‘How’s it going?’ and really mean it.

A true friend is someone:

I can depend on.

I share a common bond with.

I can trust with anything.

I can always have a conversation with, regardless of how long it’s been.

I laugh with.

I share struggles with.

A true friend is someone God has placed on my path as a blessing to me, and to whom I can be a blessing.

To all my true friends out there, thank you.

Always in a Rush: Part Three

Time for God

Paul gives us a straight-forward command when he says, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men[1]”. When we spend too much time browsing Pinterest, Facebook or YouTube, are we using our time effectively in the service of God? How much time do we spend following human pursuits rather than Godly aspirations? Consider the amount of time we, especially in our youth, spend seeking after worldly pleasures such as playing addictive computer games or watching movies, showing off our “latest and greatest” gadgets or toning our bodies, and how much time we spend in the shops, watching sport or drinking and partying.

Now I am not saying that we shouldn’t go to the gym, or have a party, or buy gadgets. No, but often these things become a waste of time because we don’t use them in the right way, as they begin to rule our life. I hope to explain these practical aspects later in more detail. But what we need to keep in mind is that we are called to “glorify God in (our) body and in (our) spirit, which are God’s”[2]. Our whole lives belong to God.  What is our motive for doing things in life? Are we trying to be the best for men, or striving to do the best for God?

If we spend our time following after our own desires, making people happy with us, it naturally follows that we do not spend our time in the service of God. Our created purpose is to serve Him, for His glory[3]. So when He gives us time, we are called to use it wisely, because we have a purpose for being on this earth!

Looking beyond time to the eternal

There are many times when the world will mock us because of our use of time, and when to us the cost of discipleship may seem very high. If we think about the amount of time we spend on specifically God-centred activities the hours add up quickly (a whole Sunday, Bible study club, family and personal devotions, etc.). But when we take away our earthly perspective, and instead look to the eternal life that awaits us, then, in thankfulness, our discipleship isn’t so pricey.

We have a great comfort in this life that when we do all things for God, it will not be in vain. God’s promises are real and eternal, and therefore we can look beyond this life, to when time will be no more. Because of God’s promises, and His work in us, we can confess that “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever”[4].

Our God is not bound or limited by time. “The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood, and the LORD sits as King forever”[5]. The time we have, however long or short it may be, is for the praise of our eternal LORD. The time of Christ’s return is near[6], so as saints, called to glorify God, let us use our time wisely, “eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end.” [7]

From Always to Never

Now that I have outlined generally how we must use our time from a Biblical perspective, I would like to discuss some of the practical ways this can affect our lives. I have already mentioned some examples, but I feel that there is more to be said in the application of what God says about time, and how we can perhaps change our lives to use our time more effectively in His service.

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[1] Colossians 3:23

[2] 1 Corinthians 6:20

[3] Isaiah 43:7

[4] Psalm 23:6

[5] Psalm 29:10

[6] Revelation 1:3

[7] 1 Corinthians 1:7