Am I able to hear the Lord's voice in the busyness of my daily life?

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

—Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

We're all so busy

We run into an old friend and ask them how they're doing. Almost without fail, the response is, "I've been so busy!" We wear it like a badge of honor because being busy means we are needed. We have important things to do. We are interesting. Often, we get an adrenaline rush from the fast pace of life. One of the risks of this busyness is an empty cup.

But how are we supposed to minister to others if our own cup is empty?

 

••••

"He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."

—ISAIAH 40:28-29 (NIV)

••••

"For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish."

—JEREMIAH 31:25 (ESV)

••••

We don't have to be busy to serve God.

God isn't asking for more of us - he's asking us to lay our anxiety, fatigue, and our schedules at his feet. He wants to take our exhaustion and give us rest. He wants us to block out time for a sabbath, not because he needs it from us, but because we need it. He wants us to be intentional with our schedules and with the precious time he has given us here on earth.

Take time today to pull out your calendar and look at it with with intentional eyes. What things do you need to change so that you don't feel exhausted by busyness? Where do you need to build in margin so you have time to minister to your neighbors? And what are your current "time suckers" that creep in and steal the time you have set aside where you could be resting?

••••

"May I grow, not in the capacity to balance or carry more, but instead in the wisdom to choose which few things I can bear well and wisely and in love." —JUSTIN McROBERTS

 

Whether you're walking through this study individually or as a group, take a moment to process by asking yourself these questions:

  • When do you spend time with God? Be honest - is it part of your daily schedule? If not, how can you make it a priority?
  • What is something consistently on your calendar that doesn’t fit your goals or needs anymore?
  • Do you see an important area in your life that you need to prioritize more than you have?
  • What is something you are doing in the next few weeks that you could easily invite a neighbor to join in, so that you can do life with them more intentionally? 

 

» NEXT STEPS

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Love God, and love your neighbor.    

Apartment Life believes that a community can be radically transformed when people intentionally invest in the lives of neighbors and build authentic relationships through service.

 

It's that simple.  
  
We partner with an apartment community’s management team to deliver the Apartment Life program. We  have the opportunity to  build community and serve residents by doing things that flow naturally out of the Christian lifestyle — welcoming new neighbors, planning social functions, and caring in times of need.

 

Together we can change the lives of people living in apartment communities, and one person at a time, we can change the world.  

 

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE AN APARTMENT LIFE COORDINATOR, YOU CAN APPLY HERE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT PARTNERING WITH APARTMENT LIFE, VISIT APARTMENTLIFE.ORG.