Are you like me? Did you get yourself into high gear with no brakes? You'll run out of gas and come to a screeching halt! Did God ever intend for us to get this busy? I don't think so. Perhaps a good acrostic for busy is B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke ; that spells busy all right! it is a yoke - and a heavy one at that! Jesus Christ told us to put His yoke on (Matthew 11) "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Isn't that what we are looking for - rest? Yet, we look at Christ's yoke as being burdensome, heavy; but, it is just the opposite. Satan's yoke is the heavy one. Jesus' burden is light. How? and Why? Because He is with us through every trial every frustration, every care. We don't go through trials alone. Under Satan's yoke- you're on your own. And believe me, that's one heavy burden!
Here's how Satan works:
Are you busy? Suppose Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his evil angels, he said, "We can't keep the Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to church, let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that experience in Jesus Christ. This is what I want you to do, angels. Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!" "How shall we do this?" shouted Satan's angels. "Keep them busy in the non essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their mind", he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and husbands to work 6-7 days a week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon their home will offer no escape from the pressures of work". "Over stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear God's still small voice. Entice them to play the radio or CD player whenever they drive, to keep the TV, VCR, CD's and their PC's going constantly in their homes. And see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ." "Fill the coffee table with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, sweepstakes, mail order catalogues, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services, and false hopes." "Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted, and unprepared for the coming week. Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and movies instead." "And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and emotion." "Let them be involved in soul winning. But crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Christ. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."
It was quite a convention in the end. And the evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busy, busy, busy and rush here and there.
Has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be the judge.
Will that stop us? It's good for me to think about this every once in awhile - we can get so caught up in 'good causes' that we really forget what is important. Mary sat at Jesus' feet. Sometimes having a Mary heart in a Martha world is not easy. But, oh how refreshing it is. Lord help us to hear the still small voice. Better yet, help us to be quiet and still long enough to listen.
Have a blessed day,
Lori
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