Time…

Have you ever felt as though there is simply not enough time in the day? That you are overworked, exhausted and simply need the world to pause so that you can do everything you need to? A lot of people feel this way. Maybe it is because of the expectations of other people. Or because we need to feel as though we are accomplishing things, and the busier we sound, the more people will respect us, and see how much work we put in. Or maybe it is to gain approval from others. Or maybe we are simply trying to get by.

This constant struggle to achieve everything can so easily leave us feeling empty, flat, and as though we have nothing more to give. At least that is how I can end up feeling.

So often when talking about the Bible and the examples in the Bible we look at all the times it says to think of others, to be kind to others, to love your enemies. And then we look at all of the things people in the Bible were part of, and look at how incredible they were. But don’t worry, they definitely struggled with the same things. Moses, worked so hard it took until his father-in-law said something about it to realise that He was burning out (Exodus 18:7). And then He finally decided to delegate.

Let’s take a moment to look at examples in the Bible of the perfect example. Jesus. God in human form. But instead of looking at the miracles, the healing, the sermons, let’s look at what He did in between that.

Luke 5:16 says “But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.”

And this isn’t just a once off, so often the Bible says that Jesus left to go to a mountain and pray. Just have a look at: Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, Mark 6:46, Luke 6:12. Just for a few examples.

Mark 1:35 mentions Jesus leaving in the morning while it was still dark, Luke 5:16 was just after He healed a man with leprosy. Matthew 14:23 was after Jesus fed the 5000, He sent his disciples away and spent time in prayer. He took time out to breathe, to refocus on God’s will, and to connect with the God of the universe.

Something I found challenging was when a friend came to me and said, “look what I just learnt Hope”. And proceeded to show me a list of things they value. However, it wasn’t until they explained that simply because we say we value something or we think we value something doesn’t mean we really value it. You can tell what a person values, by what they spend their time on.

So my challenge for you today, is to take notice of what you spend your time doing this week.

What do you show that you value?

Is it the same as what you want to value?

What values do you model to your children with how you choose to spend your time?

Hope Born, Chaplain

6:58

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