Bible Text: Psalm 46:10 | Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10

For a few moments take inventory. Ask yourself, “Am I programmed from the time I wake up in the morning until I go to bed at night?” More to do today than, say, you did last year or the year before? After a while you begin to think of your self-worth strictly in terms of production and output—whether it is the number of trips to take your kids somewhere, how many hours you can work, or how many meetings or church services you can crowd into your schedule. Saying “No” gets more and more difficult.

There is a new addiction claiming more and more victims today, a kind of urban blight that infects our lives, robbing us of purpose, creativity, leisure, any spare time, and peace of mind, so say Dr. Rick Fowler and Cassie Findley, who co-authored a book entitled, Too Busy To Live. It’s an addiction, they said, which our generation applauds. In the introduction the author writes, “Twenty-first century Western culture defines success, status, loyalty and purpose in terms of a high volume of activity. The unhealthy negative consequences of excessive busyness go largely unrecognized or are attributed to other causes.”

Without realizing it, you can become addicted to busyness. You become more and more tense, your stress level rises, and you are irritable with those whom you really love and esteem. Honestly, you are not the loving, caring person you once were—something that contributes to the growing pool of brokenness and conflict in our homes and lives today.

So what’s our greatest need today? Better organizational skills? Knowing how to do a better job of managing? Learning to be more efficient? Or whittling down the “to do list,” realizing you aren’t Superman or Superwoman, you can’t do everything, and—far more important—God never intended you to do so much. You’ve got to relearn what makes life worth living—not increasing your production but increasing your compassion, your care for others, your ability to relax and be the person God wants you to be.

The only way to establish priorities is to recognize that certain tasks and responsibilities are not worth the price you pay to accomplish them. The need does not constitute the calling, and it is far better to refuse to make some things your number one priority when you sacrifice the best things and, certainly, the best life—the one God intended for you.

Long before there were computers, iPods, and high-octane stress, God said, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). The phrase “be still” means to cease from your striving, your activity, yes, your busyness. “Be still…know that I am God.” Is there a connection between disconnecting from the busyness of life and a relationship with God, the kind that makes you realize His sufficiency is more important than yours? There is. And that is precisely why quiet time is necessary. Haste is the parent of most of our mistakes, the ones we make in a hurry when we haven’t had time to think through things, to pray about them, to seek the mind of God who knows the future and who knows what is best for His children.

A final thought. You are as busy as you choose to be and as addicted to the thrill of “more” as you allow yourself. Take time, friend. Pull the plug on busyness and get control of your life before it so controls you that you become emotional toast. Life is too short not to enjoy it and the people God has put in your life. Be still and know that God is God, that you are a person, not a robot or a machine, and that your value isn’t dependent on production.

Resource reading: Psalm 46