For many years, I measured my worth by how much I accomplished on a given day. I had a big stack of things to do. If I made a big dent on that pile, I felt good about myself.
But the stack was always bigger than the time I had available. Every day I was leaving things undone. Important things. Urgent things.
If only there was some way to squeeze 36 hours into a 24-hour day!
I thought of myself as busy, and I felt frazzled. Never enough time in the day.
But somewhere along the line, the Lord spoke to me, and He reminded me of a familiar verse:
“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not be in want.” (Psalm 23:1)
He went on to say: Why are you saying you don’t have enough time? I haven’t shortchanged you on time. I’ve given you all the time you need…
That was a major turnaround for me. I have all the time I need.
And here’s how it works for me, anyway, in real life: I invest about an hour almost every day taking a walk with God. No real agenda—usually. I usually “pray” through my prayer list at a different time. I have a different time for Bible reading.
Just God and me, walking along a country road or through a quiet park. Sometimes I tell Him what’s happening in my life, what I’m thinking, how I’m feeling, what I’m experiencing. Sometimes I ask Him questions. Sometimes I tell Him how grateful I am for life.
But mostly I just hang out with God, not saying a whole lot, just enjoying His company.
It has become the most important hour of my day—the most treasured.
I don’t do it for the purpose of getting anything out of it—other than the sheer pleasure of being with God. But here’s what has happened over and over again:
The project I was working on—spinning my wheels, getting nowhere… I get a breakthrough idea, and I end up finishing it much faster than I thought I would. Or I realize that half the things on my to do list just don’t matter that much—I can let them go and I will be okay.
I find that I have room to breathe. While, sure, I have my moments, characteristically, my life has become calm, unhurried, serene.
I pass this on to you. If you’re struggling to keep up, maybe it’s time to just take a walk with God—hang out with Him, and see what happens.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
