The One With all the Time Sucking

I have a job and I have a career. God has blessed me with a job that sustains me for meeting earthly needs; however, my career saturates my soul. Once we accept Jesus as our Savior, we become Jesus' Apprentices. We get to hang out with him all day long every day. We get to learn all that he has to teach us and all that we should be. This is my true career in life. To become so saturated with Jesus and the Word of God that I become more and more like Him each day. Think like Him. Behave like Him. Love like Him. Reflect humble grace and acceptance to all those around me.

My goal is to be with Jesus every chance I can in every day I get here on earth in hopes that I'll behave more like the example He set for us. I want to follow His examples and do what He would do in life situations and with others. I have to start fresh every day and wake up with God first each morning. I pray at the start of each day that God will help me share peace, hope, joy, love and kindness to those around me. I can't do it without the Holy Spirit consuming my life because I'm a huge mess on my own.

Are we missing life in all our living? Are we missing the point of our lives? Do we get so caught up in everything we try to squeeze into a day that we miss all the incredibly good things in the day we just whipped on through? Everything we do should be for the benefit of our eternity as well as the eternity of those around us. Does what you are doing in your daily life benefit God? Can you add more time with God in your daily life? Having an eternal mindset changes your perception about the mundane things that really don't matter in life. The things that waste our time and energy but do us absolutely no good eternally for you or anyone around you.

Colossians 3:2-4 "Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory."

If the devil can trap you into losing track of time, he'll trap you into not having enough time. Pretty soon you'll find you don't have time for God in your daily life and therefore you are no longer thinking about God and doing what God meant you to do in your life. If you lose site of God, you are no longer continuing to develop your relationship with Him. God will start to feel distant and obscure. Material things that really don't matter at all in life will soon become more important and will consume your time and energy. Distractions. Wasted time. You will no longer reflect the heart of God to the world around you because you become so consumed with the world. Your purpose and passion for life becomes deflected and an emptiness sets in. Sadness. Sometimes you don't even realize why it's there or where it came from. Your soul gets lost.

I often have to stop myself throughout the days and try to stay aware of what I'm doing with my time. I'm working really hard to stay present in my days. Present with God. Present with myself. Present with those around me. If I open a social media app and find myself scrolling more than usual or get caught up in a Netflix marathon, I quickly stop myself - and say "what am I doing? Is this benefitting my relationship with God?" If the answer is no, I immediately stop myself and redirect. Pray, go to the Word of God, turn on some worship music...whatever God may lead me to at that moment. I have to intentionally stop the time sucking from my life. Whatever it is that might be wasting time in my life, I try to intentionally stop it. I am trying harder to evaluate my time use and take a minute to realize - nope - this is just a time sucker. It's not helping me in my relationship with God. Move along devil...you will not trick me today. When I catch myself failing, I move forward. Failing forward with faith is a daily event in my daily life.

To be clear, "doing things" does not save us. We are saved by grace when we believe Jesus died for our sins and confess that He is our Savior. It is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we do. When we accept Jesus as our Savior personally and grow with Him, our relationship continues to deepen and strengthen. Our hearts are stirred and we want to become more and more like Jesus. A desire rises up in us to do the good things He planned for us and for our lives. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

What can we do to serve God in our daily lives? Are you more invested in your relationship with your smartphone or Netflix than you are in your relationship with Jesus? Where is all your time being invested? Have we become so busy in our daily lives that we are unable to live healthy lives emotionally? Are we so busy that we are completely oblivious to what God is trying to show us or tell us?

In Luke 10:38-42, we have the story of Martha and Mary. Jesus stopped by to visit them and Martha was busy trying to get all the small details right. You know, those things that really don't make a difference in the grand scheme of the day. I imagine Martha bustling over the dinner table, trying to make sure all the plates and utensils were just perfectly set. Wasting time. I'm 100% positive Jesus did not care which side of the plate his fork would sit. Mary was ignoring all that and talking and learning with Jesus. Martha got frustrated and asked Jesus to tell Mary to help her. Jesus put a stop to that nonsense and told Martha "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her."

Mary was present with Jesus. She refused to miss the best part of her day. Jesus had her full attention. Once we discover Jesus and truly desire and hunger to learn more and deepen our relationships with Him, we have discovered what really matters. To be present with Jesus and give Him our full attention. The other distractions and clutter in life don't make a difference in our eternity. Another thing I love about this story is that Jesus will not be taken away. Never. Jesus will never leave you and can never be taken from you. Jesus will be with you each and every day helping you through everything. Teaching you, loving you, cherishing you. He will always and forever be there with you in every moment no matter what we do or how many mistakes we make. He will never leave us and will absolutely never abandon us. This is soooo comforting.

The point of our lives on earth is to deepen our relationship with God and bring others to know Him too. We are God's servants. If what we are doing in our daily lives doesn't bring glory to God and show the love of Jesus to others, there's no point. Leave it be. Are we reflecting God's love, humility, patience, kindness, and forgiveness in our jobs and daily lives? Are we reflecting the heart of Jesus to those around us wherever we go? Do we throw impatient tantrums in stores with long lines or do we use that time to pray, fellowship, and show God's love to those waiting in line with us? Maybe the cashier is in desperate need of a warm smile and a friendly reminder that she matters today. Perhaps that was a God ordained moment and someone needed to see kindness, compassion, and the love of Jesus while in line. Are we missing the opportunities God places before us in our daily lives?

Philippians 2:1- "Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had."

Who's next step of faith hinges on your obedience to God and apprenticeship with Jesus? If we set our selfish attitudes aside and maintained the same attitude Jesus had in our daily lives, we'd stop missing the opportunities to reflect Jesus to those around us. Humility is huge. Love and kindness matter. What is the world seeing in you when you step out your front door? Possibly even more important, what are your loved ones seeing behind the closed doors? Are you a reflection of Jesus? How we treat others should be a walking, moving, breathing example of how Jesus loves and treats people.

God is not a hobby or something you think about before diving into your tenderloins. God should be the central beating passion of your heart - every day. God has to be first, all around us is temporary. When praying and talking with God, stop and pause a moment to think about who you are about to converse with. You are talking with the God of the entire universe and He loves you beyond measure. He should be taken seriously in all we do and say. I pray every day for God to help me slow down, use my time for Him, and be overrun by His goodness so I can be the person He created me to be while on this earth. The song of my life isn't finished yet, but it is a masterpiece in progress written by God Himself.

Our time on earth is limited. Are we spending our time wisely? Are we invested in what matters? The word "no" is a complete sentence all by itself. It's a REALLY hard word for us people pleasers to use. When you are confident in who you are in God, confident in what God truly wants you to be doing, your Yes's will gain more confidence and your No's will become a whole lot easier. We only have so much time in any given day and on this earth. Are we spending our time how God intended us? Are we serving God by serving the ones God places in our lives and by following the example Jesus set for us while on earth?

We are the hands and feet of God. Our lives should be pointing others to Jesus so they too can know true forgiveness and eternal life. Are we living intentionally? Are we passionately fulfilling our careers as apprentices' of Jesus? Or are we simply striving for more "likes" on social media while waiting for the next Netflix binge? What we are doing with our time daily in our routines ultimately becomes who we are in life.

Who are you? Is it who you truly want to be?