Making Time

I was challenged by a friend today. This friend, whom I see as a great teacher/disciple maker, someone that thinks about the world differently than I do, and someone I want to learn from said he wasn’t sure if I was teachable. In that moment, I heard God speak.

I pride myself on being available, on being open to new ideas, perspectives, relationships, understandings and applications of things. When I was challenged, I knew deep down it was God pursuing my heart, and that it was a good thing. Admittedly, in the last six-to-twelve months, I have been distracted. I haven’t been focused. I haven’t been teachable. I haven’t been “making time” for relationships to truly prosper and grow in my life, and every relationship I have has suffered as a result. I have neglected to return phone calls, emails, hospitality, and so much more. I have made an idol of the “work” and “business” in my life, and have over-committed, and over-extended myself physically, spiritually, and emotionally. It causes decay. It causes burnout. It causes you to overlook that which is important.

I only hope God continues to pursue me in such a way that I can turn this pattern of behavior around, and begin making time again for the people in my life that I love.

It’s going to require some prayer and likely some difficult decisions, but these will be decisions I know God has equipped me to make. For it says in Romans 8:26-27 (CEV) “In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. 27All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God’s people.”

I hope you will pray with me.