“Busy-ness…can be a way to avoid God, the meaning of life, and life itself.” ~ Sidney S. Macaulay

“I’m sorry I haven’t emailed or called, I’m just so busy I can’t think straight!”

“Well, I can’t get a CAT scan yet. I’ve got two deadlines next week.”

Do these busy people sound called or driven? Gordon MacDonald, in his book, Ordering Your Private World, describes characteristics of driven people. If I remember correctly, he described them as:

* highly competitive
* value accomplishments and results more than anything else
* strive for bigger and more visible endeavors
* try to impress people with their busy schedules
* spend little time on relationships with spouse, family, friends, and God.

Our society highly esteems the workaholic. And it’s easy to become compulsive. More and more we cave to frantic, exhausting lives, filling our time with important things, maybe, but not God’s best for us. Oswald Chambers urges us:

“Beware of anything that competes with loyalty to Jesus Christ.”

What does this have to do with busyness? Well, if our relationship with Christ matters at all, we’ll desire His will concerning our vocation, avocation, and all our relationships. When we’re truly intent on setting our hearts on things above, we’ll check with Him before committing to projects. Sometimes we have to run out of fuel before we realize that He’s just not giving us the grace to go forward for a reason.

Are you sinking? Stop, drop to your knees, and lay your agenda on God’s altar. Let Christ help you discern the best use of your time. He teaches us how to prioritize, discern, and to even say no. With Him, we find time to nurture our relationships and stop giving busyness as our excuse for neglect. When Christ enables us to live out our calling, He not only releases us from the need to perform, He breaks the yoke of bondage when it comes to drivenness. After all, our needs and identity are met fully in Him. We don’t need bigger and better endeavors to feel good on the inside.

It’s a rat race out there. Life will always be a challenge. But with Christ, there is grace and peace because we’re following His path for us.

Feel the quicksand around your knees already?

Don’t panic. Pray. Then modify your schedule as the Holy Spirit leads. You may have to give up something ‘good’ for something ‘better.’ Trust Him. And remember: God’s agenda always has room for what’s truly important.