Finding God In My Schedule | Northstar Church

“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.” – Hebrew 4:12-13

You should continue reading this if you live at an inhuman pace because your weekly time budget is overdrawn. You should continue reading this if you are also overdrawn time wise in your spiritual life and in relationships with your spouse and children. And you should continue reading this if you are in a regular life rhythm and are trying to control the uncontrollable. If you are continuing to read, you need to apply the brakes in some areas of your life and give control back to the one who is in control, God. And that starts with finding time for God in our schedule.

Yes, we can be very busy. There are days when everybody needs something and you just can’t keep up. And maintaining control of the uncontrollable can really take a toll: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. In those times, the question we should be asking ourselves is simple: why do we let God take a backseat when we get busy?

The obvious question is also simple: given that I am overdrawn in the time department, adding another thing (morning devotional, Bible study, prayer) into an already jam-packed schedule really is going to be an even bigger challenge. It is a matter of priorities. Do you genuinely hunger for quiet time with the Lord? Do you strive every day to grow deeper in your faith than you were the day before? God trumps all other priorities.

To be blunt, I don’t think we can be so busy that we are comfortable saying, “I don’t have time to spend with God.” That statement says a whole lot about us, and the true attitude of the heart. It signals we really don’t understand how amazing God is, how precious it is to be in His presence and most of all how desperately and deeply we need Him in all areas of our life. Because if I fill my life trying to control other things, I have successfully crowded out the one who is in control and inferring that my schedule is more important, my priorities are higher and that I can do it all myself, thank you very much. Most of us have been there and done that. And we find out that it simply does not work when God is not in the equation.

The reality is that we are most in control when God is closely, intimately involved and in control of our entire lives.

Discussion Questions:

God is not up in Heaven with a scorecard, marking down every minute you do (or don’t) spend in prayer. He isn’t keeping a huge tally card of how many verses you have memorized or how many pages of your Bible you read today. What do you think He does expect?
What can we do when we have no time margin for God?