Busy days shouldn't keep us from God

I read a commentary from Breakpoint Ministries about the prevalence of busyness in our culture.

The author quoted a story by preacher and author Kevin DeYoung. DeYoung told of a woman who was visiting the United States from another country.

Each time she would introduce herself as “Busy.” DeYoung says in his book “Crazy Busy:” “It was, after all, the first thing she heard when meeting any American. Hello, I’m busy — she figured it was part of our traditional greeting, so she told everyone she met that’s who she was.”

Are we too busy? I am plagued with busyness some days and at the end of some days and in spite of all the busyness, I feel I have accomplished little.

There are times that I have to grab something to eat at a drive though because the necessity of doctors’ appointments, errands and meetings to attend, keep me in a time crunch.

It is on those busy days that I do not have time with God. I use the excuse of being too busy and instead put God in the background.

What does all this busyness mean for the Christian? Dallas Willard, author and professor, wrote: “God will, generally speaking, not compete for our attention. If we will not withdraw from things that obsess and exhaust us into solitude and silence, he will usually leave us to our own devices.”

What a telling statement: God will not compete for our attention. If we do not have time for God, he waits in the background until we have time for him, until we are exhausted, at our wit’s end and then we will be willing to go to him.

Spending time with God for the Christian is a necessity. Our time alone with God should not have to compete with our busy schedules. Just as a plant cannot grow without water, we cannot know God on the level of personal intimacy without spiritual nourishment from him. The only way intimacy is accomplished is to slow down and take the time to know him. Busyness can stifle our ability to dwell on the omnipotence, love and goodness of God.

How can we make time for God in our busy schedules?

First we must be still so we can listen to God. Being still, taking the time to dwell on God and his presence in our lives is a prerequisite to knowing him. The Bible says: “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

We must be quiet before God. That means leaving all the loudness of the world on the outside and turning in to God with our hearts on the inside. The Psalmist wrote: “I wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.” (Psalm 62:5)

Next, we must be patient before God and know that God will not only still our emotions and thoughts, but he will answer our needs. “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.” (Psalm 37:7 NLT)

So with all busyness aside and being still, quiet and patient, we can wait expectantly for a word from God, an answer to prayer or a direction for our lives. The psalmist must have understood this because he wrote: “I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for he has promised.” (Psalm 105:5 LB)

No matter what is packed into our day, we have to keep a check on all our activities to make sure that we are not too busy. If we don’t, someday we will look back and see that the activities we spent much of our moments on were not worth the time or effort. It would be a sad day to realize that all our opportunities to know God to the fullest were squandered on busyness.

When we reach old age, the greatest regret some of us may have is summed up in these four words: “I wish I had.”

Judy Brandon writes about faith for the Clovis News Journal. Contact her at:

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