“Life’s a rat race!” or so the saying goes. It’s true if we live as the world demands. We’re encouraged to strive for more and better and as quickly as possible. A better job, a bigger home, a fatter bank account, and so on. It’s not wrong to achieve and be successful. In fact, God wants us to be fruitful in this life, but our priorities are what make the difference. Years ago I saw a bumper sticker that said, “He who dies with the most toys wins!” How sad. I don’t think any of us would say we agree with that, yet if we slow down for just a minute and ask ourselves, “Why am I doing what I’m doing?” we just might be surprised by the answer. We may even realize that we need to shift our priorities a bit, so they align with what matters most to God.
In college, I participated in work-study in the Communications Department. I always dove right into the work the department head would leave for me and would have to ask for more. One day to my surprise, she asked me to paint a sign for the Theatre Department. It was a sign about 6 feet tall and 6 ft wide. I was kind of shocked she asked me to do this as I wasn’t an art major and she didn’t know if I had the ability. I love art though, and it was a simple enough design, so I completed my other work and went over to the theatre to get started. I just dove into the task at hand, and an hour or so later, I went back to tell the department head I finished and needed more work to do.
When I walked into her office for some reason she looked stunned, and even more so when I told her I finished painting the sign. Then she did the strangest thing. She literally ran out of the office. I was confused and sat at my desk wondering what was happening. A few minutes later, she came back and walked straight past me to her office. I got really nervous. I assumed she went to the theatre to check my work. Did she hate my sign? Was she upset? I didn’t know what to think. A few seconds later she came out of her office with a piece of paper and stood before my desk. “Is the sign ok?” I asked nervously. She nodded once. “Ummm… do you have more work for me to do?” She nodded again and then to my surprise…she ripped the paper in half and said sternly, “Here. Tape this together and when you’re done with that – there is NO more work to do. Use the rest of the time to do your homework.” Then she spun around, went into her office, and closed the door.
Much to my chagrin, I realized that I was so focused on the task at hand, I missed the message she was sending me. By doing my work so quickly, I was making more work for her as she struggled to find things for me to do during my required work-study hours. In asking me to paint that sign, she was hoping it would take me all day or who knows all week before I asked for more work, but I missed the message. Isn’t it just like that with our relationship with God sometimes? We get so caught up in life, in the busyness, in the doing, yes…even in the rat race…that we miss out on the message God is trying to get to us. Maybe His message is “Slow down a little and see that person whose life I can use you to touch today.” or maybe it’s “Be still just for a moment and hear the instruction I want to give you for this situation you’re facing. Whatever the message is, if God is trying to get a message to us, we need to hear it!
So… I learned a lesson that day, and after I taped that piece of paper together… oh yes I did 🙂 … I made a commitment to not be so focused on the “doing” that I miss out on “the message,” especially when it’s God speaking to me.
Psalm 91:1 talks about the secret place. It says;
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty (KJV)
The secret place is where God is. Yes, God is always present, but the secret place is where we personally commune with God. It’s the time and place we choose to put all aside to be with Him. It’s a daily, if not minute by minute decision. It’s where we receive everything we need from Him to live this life He’s called us to live. It’s in the secret place that God pours out His strength, His wisdom, His Joy… It’s in these moments that we bask in God’s love for us, being reminded of who we are and Whose we are. In the secret place, under the shadow of the Almighty is our place of protection, peace, and provision. God wants us to dwell with Him in this place, and His arms are always wide open.
How do we dwell in the secret place while living in our fast-paced world? How do we get out of the rat race and into the secret place? I believe it begins with asking ourselves that first question? Why am I doing what I do? Maybe we need to ask ourselves this each day. If we know “why,” it changes “how” we do things. As children of God, everything in our lives is meant to be an act of worship unto God. Every success we have or accomplishment we achieve should be for the purpose of pointing others to Jesus. If this is our heart, our very “why,” then it will be easier to keep our priorities straight. It will become easier to not get caught up in the rat race…but stay in that secret place. We’ll begin to crave those moments with God each day. Our ear will become more attuned to the messages He’s speaking to us, and more focused on what matters most to Him.
In my next blog I want to share how Jesus, our perfect example did this. There’s a lot we can learn from Jesus’ life here on earth. But for now, let’s just take a moment to rediscover our “why” and commit to getting out of the rat race and into the secret place each day. I’m right there with you!
