Pastor Jean Newell

Obviously I don’t know about you, but there have been some days – as a pastor – I’m so busy doing for God that I forget about being with God! I’m so busy planning for the spiritual journey for others, I neglect to take the journey myself.

In a way, I guess I could consider my faith journey similar to the one that Abram took when God first called the shepherd to follow. Abram was busy with his own life, tending his flocks and providing for his family, and yet, there came a time when he sensed that God was calling him to do something different. In faith, Abram then made a decision not to let the busyness of his life stop him from following God’s call.

Generations later, four fishermen — two sets of brothers — would have a similar response to God’s call. Scripture tells us that upon hearing Jesus call “Follow me,” Peter and his brother Andrew and their partners, James and John, left their fishing business, their boats and the nets they had been repairing behind to follow Jesus. In faith, the four men made a decision much like Abram did, and they decided not to let the busyness of their lives hinder their response to God’s call!

You and I may not be herding sheep or mending torn fishing nets, but are we any different than Abram or the disciples? Busyness is busyness, isn’t it?

With that in mind, maybe it’s time to reconsider the claim that busyness has upon our lives. Is it time for us to take a deep breath and center ourselves, not on ourselves, but on God? Is it time that we, like our spiritual ancestors before us, answer the call to follow Jesus in spite of the busyness of our lives? We need to realize the journey will not be easy. It will mean that we will have to make some tough decisions.

However, if we follow in faith, I believe we will find that just as with Abram and the men who became Jesus’ disciples, when we leave the busyness behind, we will find that as we seek to draw closer to God, we will sense God’s  nearness to us!