“Be still and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10

I didn’t know how exhausted I was until I took some time off after Christmas. I knew things were busy, very busy, and I knew I was feeling some stress from it all, but I didn’t realize how much I needed to stop.

Busyness can be one of the greatest challenges in my life, and one of the greatest obstacles to healthy relationships with my family and with God. Caught up in the flurry of activity, some of the more valuable parts of life are slowly, imperceptibly eroded. Due to a series of unique events that occurred near the beginning of September, my already active schedule was overwhelmed with extra responsibilities. Many wonderful things happened during the past four months, but the experience was quite draining.

Unfortunately, I am not alone. Conversations with people I minister with, reading numerous social media posts from friends, even casual conversations in restaurants and the coffee shop all point to a growing sense of hurry and stress. Work requires more to be done in less time. Family issues create new layers of concern and frustration. Holidays mingle their joy with mountains of added responsibilities. In the midst of all of the activity and concern, our bodies feel the anxious weight and can even add health concerns to our over-full plate. All of this is set against a backdrop of local, national, and global concerns. It can all be draining and disheartening.

Thankfully, this is not God’s plan for our lives, nor do we have to settle for this way of living. No, we cannot abandon our responsibilities, and we should be living with a passion for our goals and our purpose, but we can make space to be renewed in spirit as we open our lives to the refreshing wind of God’s Spirit. The Psalmist declared a great invitation from heaven with the simple words, “Be still and know that I am God.” Successfully living life is more than completing tasks on a list, it is savoring the presence of God and drawing strength from his Spirit within us.

God prodded my attention to this on the day after Christmas; the second day of my winter vacation. While reading a book on my Kindle, one I bought for pleasure, not for work, I found myself trying to push through to finish quickly. Sitting in the grocery store parking lot, waiting for my wife to return to the car, I was rushing to reach the end. Embarrassingly, I even caught myself thinking of how soon I could add another completed book to Goodreads! What was worse was that this was symbolic for so much of my life. As I spent time discussing this with God in prayer, later in the day, God made me very aware of how easily I can miss being with God while I am busy doing things for God.

Successful people know what needs to be done. They set goals, know their purpose and their gifts, and they track their progress. Being goal-oriented is important, but so is being balanced. Those who are truly successful also know how to tend to their souls; how to pause and be renewed, in order to be their best in the other areas of their lives. Even Jesus knew the sacred value of being with God. A quick look at his life reveals a daily routine of rising early to spend time in prayer, soaking in the presence of God. He also took extended times away with the disciples. If the Savior made time for this renewal, we should too.

No matter how busy our schedule is, we can make time to be still with God. In fact, it will be in our busiest times that we will need that time the most. This is an investment. It is time well spent as we regain our creativity, as God recreates us. In our hurry to accomplish things, we must not neglect time to be with God, and we must not make this one more thing to check off of our list. Healthy relationships take time, and healthy living takes attention. When we are willing to be still, and give our time and attention to God, we will find the balance, wisdom, and strength to accomplish all that lies ahead, and remain healthy as we do.