final thought

Noise is everywhere. We are constantly bombarded with information. We receive messages that demand our immediate attendance, emails, and WhatsApps suggesting the issue at hand is urgent.

Yet, so often, there is no emergency. Trying to find even five minutes in the working day can be difficult, the guilt of switching off and leaving the office can be overwhelming. Gone are the days of a consultants’ or doctors’ canteen or restaurant. Many a lunch today is eaten at the desk pursuing emails or answering the phone.

Talking to God is easy. We can do it on the run. But listening? That is another story. We all want a relationship with God, and he wants one with us, but as in any successful relationship, it needs to be worked at. We need to learn to stop talking, be quiet, and listen. We will not hear what God has to say to us unless we give him the space to speak. In 1 Kings 19:12, God was not present in the noise but as a ‘still small voice’ (New King James Version), and in Isaiah 41:1, God commands, ‘Keep silence before Me, O coastlands’ (NKJV).

Finding time to be still and silent is difficult and requires us to be proactive. One way forward is to make an appointment in your diary to be with God, a ‘date night’, time put aside that cannot be changed, a time to settle back and feel God’s presence, a time to commune with God, and a time to recharge. Rest is good and is essential if we are to be useful for God in our workplaces and to our families.

God rested on the seventh day; Christ withdrew from the crowds to pray (Luke 5:16). We are fragile pots of clay. We are easily broken. If we do not look after ourselves, we cannot be fruitful, the world will overtake us (Song of Solomon 1:6 & 2:15), and we will wither, become dry, and possibly burn out.

Today, make a promise to yourself to take stock, decide what is ‘really important’, do less, and pray more. You will be surprised at the joy and rewards it will bring.