I'll Pencil You Into My Schedule

“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” – Psalms 5:3

Our time is our life, and how we spend it shapes our character, our happiness, our success and our future. How and in what we invest our time is what is important. How does God want us to spend our time? It’s an interesting question to consider. In Sunday’s message we talked about matching up our time and schedules with the priorities in our life such as our relationships. Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said: “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” That is the core of what I was talking about on Sunday. Our best intentions means little unless there is action behind them. In other words, are we willing to dedicate the time to do what we say we want to do. In today’s devotional, I would like to expand that thought process to include how much God shows up on our schedule.

Do you ever feel like our Christian walk wouldn’t be so difficult if life didn’t keep getting in the way. That feeling often surfaces on Sunday mornings. Some worship services are the kind where you check your watch every few minutes because they seem to go on and on and on. Yes, the music is wonderful, and yes, the message was spot on for some things you need to live a Home Ruin Life. But at some point, the real world is calling and we have to exit the church and head for home and our schedules. Sure, I want to glorify God, but life is busy, our schedules are packed, there are bills to be paid, projects due at the office.

Many of us are planners. We like to plan out our schedule so we know what we have to do and when. Let’s say we decided to apply this same discipline with God. We take out a blank monthly calendar and after a few moments of thought and reflection say: “Okay, God, I’ll give you two hours on Sunday morning and I believe I can commit to one hour each week for my small group. I will check with you for 15 minutes each morning to set up my day and at bedtime (unless I fall asleep) for a post-day debrief. I think that pretty much covers it, oh yes, I almost forgot. I will do a brief acknowledgment before each meal. Does that work for you? Outstanding. I’ll pencil you in.”

The problem is that we think that we need to divide or separate God’s time from the rest of our everyday life. Sunday is God’s time, holy and set apart for Him. And the rest of the week is when I get everything else done. The problem with that thinking is we are putting God in a Sunday morning box; that’s when we go to church, pray, worship, and reflect on God. Starting on Monday, we don’t think as much about God. Not because we don’t love, revere or worship God, because we do. No, it is because we think, “there’s nothing spiritual about going to the grocery store, cooking dinner, meeting with a client, doing laundry or grading student papers.”

God is not a Sunday-only God that wants to limit His interaction with you. God wants to help you with cooking dinner, driving in traffic, and in your business dealings. He wants to help you with that algebra problem, help you be more productive at the office and with your role in your small group. But, God will only be involved in as much of your life as you allow Him to be.

Proverbs 3: 6 (TLB) says, “In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success”

In everything you do acknowledge God. That means when you get up in the morning, acknowledge God; “Good morning Lord, I love you today. I need your help to live a Home Run Life today.” When you are at work, “Lord, help me to reflect you today by keeping my word and my promises.” Or “Lord, help me be the husband/wife that loves my spouse unconditionally today and every day.”

Here is the bottom line. We don’t have to pull ourselves out of living to glorify God. On the contrary, God doesn’t want designated sections of your day. He wants to be part of every moment of your day. God expects us to make Him a part of our everyday living. Don’t relegate God to a few mentions on your calendar. Let Him infuse your day with His strength, His patience and His love in everything. You will be a different person for it.

Discussion Question:

Do you have faith in God’s presence at all times? Describe a time when you felt God’s presence? Practice the presence of God–take time each day–even for a few minutes to be aware of the presence of God.
What do you need to do to keep God in your schedule?
What, if anything, sounds too difficult about talking and listening to God while you’re doing something else? In what circumstances are you most tempted to stop talking to God? If you were to talk to Him in those circumstances, what would you want to hear from Him?
How would you rate your prayer life?
Pray and ask God to help you be more dependent on Him in every aspect of your life?