FOOD FOR THOUGHT: BE CAREFUL OF THE PACE. Today is Thursday. The week is quickly rushing by us. How fast-paced has it been so far? Recall the Lord’s Day, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Did we feel at any time there wasn’t enough time in the day to get everything done we thought we needed to accomplish? How many late evenings did we fall into bed exhausted because of the pace of the day? How much space did anxiety and stress occupy our hearts as we ran from one thing to another to another and still felt way behind? How many “bursts of impatience” came out in speech or attitude to those dear to us because of the frenzied pace of our lives? And, most importantly, how much quality time with the Lord was sacrificed or hurried through because life was simply too fast? The last question should cause us to settle down for a moment and meditate on this command from the Apostle Paul, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15-18). As we read what Paul said, pay attention to a couple of things. First, he said, “making the best use of the time” not being busy all the time.” Another thing he said is a little discomforting to us who might be busier with our time instead of making the best use with our time. Right after the words, “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil”, he states, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is”. These are not separate or stand alone statements. They are linked. I will make this personal for me and if it fits your size, then by all means, join me. Here is the application – if I am not making the best use of the time, then I am foolish and don’t understand the will of the Lord. When it comes to having a prosperous soul, or spiritual life, the most damaging thing we allow to happen is to be controlled by busyness in life. Yes, we have things we must do, but we also have things we must not sacrifice because of busyness; things like the means of ensuring our spiritual health remains vibrant – private prayer, corporate prayer, private worship, corporate worship, and time in the Word.
Commenting on today’s reference, A. W. Pink wrote some serious words about being too busy or in haste. He wrote, “God has said in His Word, ‘He that believes shall not make haste’, and if ever there was a time when His children needed to give special heed to this admonition it is now. The children of God are infected with the spirit of the world. The mad rush which characterizes everything around us, the awful hustle and bustle of the ungodly as they rush headlong to eternal death, has affected the members of the household of faith; and few, if any of us, are free from it. One of our most urgent needs is to be delivered from this feverish spirit, for it is rapidly sapping the spiritual vitality of many of God’s people. The rate at which sacred songs are commonly sung; the unholy manner in which many rush into the presence of the Most High God, and alas, the same spirit possesses most of us when we read the Word of God. We earnestly ask our readers to make a prayerful study of the words, ‘stand’, ‘sit’, ‘wait’, ‘tarry’, as they are found in the Holy Whit.”
The wise counsel and warning of Pink is simply this . . . if we want to live shallow Christian lives, with leanness of soul, then let life take on a frenzied pace. Be careful of the pace in which we live for unless we control it, vibrant prayer lives, soul-satisfying times in the Word, and refreshing times with the Lord Jesus will be things known only in words and wishful desires, not experience.
PRAYER: “Lord, help me to slow down in my life so I may learn to be still and know You.”
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