“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28 NKJV
What do you do when you find yourself stressed to the max? The most common is to evaluate how we spend our time. We have a few things that are unmovable…sleep, eating, work. But then we add our children’s activities, working out, date night, watching our favorite sports team and maybe a hobby here and there. Our activities are kind of like dessert. None of them are bad in moderation. But when we sit down and gorge on a chocolate cheesecake, things can get a little out of whack.
There is a common understanding that if we are overloaded, we MUST cut some things out of our lives. By the end of this, I hope I have convinced you that the opposite is true…there is one thing we must ADD. Crazy I know. How is adding something supposed to help my already over scheduled day? This chick has flipped her lid.
I have witnessed many friends go through the process of pairing down their schedules. And sadly, the first thing to get “cut” is church attendance. I’m not exactly sure what that extra hour to hour and a half is really going to do to fix whats going on but MANY believe wholeheartedly that this is the best decision. I admit, it kind of makes sense. But then I think I would probably just fill that time with something numbing like cruising around social media.
Instead of making this a problem for the “yous” out there, let me share my personal experience with this very same issue. Now, as a pastor’s wife and a pastor myself, cutting out church attendance is not really an option for me. So it’s kind of not a fair comparison. Stick with me though.
About four months ago, I found myself in a very unbalanced state. My wheels were spinning but I wasn’t going anywhere. I went to bed frustrated and I woke up stressed. Ever been there? I stopped and looked back at times in my life that felt the most balanced. And that’s when I realized I was not investing ANY time into real Bible study. Sure, I was reading a devotion almost daily but then I would shut it and move on with my day. Check, done with that task, now on to the next.
Have you ever felt like your life was just moving from one task to the next?
Bible study isn’t a task to finish. It is an ongoing conversation. I immediately got involved with a daily, in-depth Bible study. Let me rephrase that…I ADDED SOMETHING TO MY CALENDAR AND IT BENEFITED ME! When does that ever happen?
“fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”
Philippians 2:2 NKJV
Balance has been restored. I have been restored. My home has been restored. God doesn’t work like we do. We want to take things away so we can handle our life. God wants us to add HIM so HE can handle our life. Stop trying to control it all.
We receive the BEST when we allow God to be the giver!
Don’t cut out your church attendance thinking it will help you at all. Separating yourself from the Body isn’t healthy…it’s silliness really. Instead, ADD Bible study into your day. Add it to every day. You’ll be surprised what happens!