TREADMILL OF TIME

Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)

After reading the title “Treadmill of Time,” you may have read today’s verse and thought to yourself, “Yeah, right! I can’t remember the last time I was still before God with all the running I’ve been doing on the treadmill of time. Well, you are not alone.

In our fast-paced society, stillness simply doesn’t feel right. If we are not going, going, going, we believe we are falling behind. Yet God makes it clear that in order to grow into the person He is calling us to be, we must develop the discipline of stillness. If we are not disciplined to be still, we simply will not know God as fully and as deeply as we ought. When we are running from one activity to another . . . from one event to another . . . we are either too busy to spend time with God, or too tired to hear Him speak to us when we finally do slow down.

If you find yourself constantly running on the treadmill of time, know that it is not God who has put you there. I long ago lost count of how often I’ve heard members of our congregation say that they have so many plates spinning that they simply can’t keep up with them all.

Here’s the thing: If you can’t get all your work done, it’s not God’s work you are doing! God will always give you the right amount of time to do exactly what He is calling you to do in order for you to still have time left to be still in His presence. God will not overfill your agenda so as to crowd Himself out of your life.

Perhaps this would be a good time to take inventory of how you have been “investing” your time lately. Remember, God’s gift to you is time. Your gift back to God is how you spend it. Why not invest a little extra time in your relationship with Jesus this week? Take a walk with Him today. Spend some time alone at the park with Him. If you are raising children, open God’s Word while they are napping and let God speak to you.

I have learned from personal experience that we always get more done when we step off the treadmill of time to be still before God. I know it feels counterintuitive, but it really does work!

One more thought: the more you are still before God, the more you will know just how much He loves and cares for you.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!