The Tyranny of the Urgent: Reclaiming Time with God in a Busy World
I was recently sitting with my church home group, listening to each person describe the pressures on their time. They talked about how busy they were and what a challenge it is to find time for what’s important.
We live in a culture of constant motion. Between work deadlines, family obligations, and social commitments, our days fill up fast. We are exhaustingly and relentlessly busy, which often leads to feeling spiritually empty.
Busyness has become the great thief of our generation. It doesn’t announce itself as an enemy of faith. Instead, it quietly pushes our relationship with God to the margins. We talk with people daily who say, “I’ll pray later,” read Scripture “when things slow down,” and prioritize community “once this season passes.”
The problem is that later rarely comes, things never truly slow down, and busy seasons blend seamlessly into the next thing demanding our attention.
Jesus understood this tension. When Martha was distracted by preparations and consumed by urgent tasks, Mary chose to sit at Jesus’ feet. Martha’s frustration was understandable as there was real work to be done. Yet Jesus gently corrected her and told her that her worries weren’t necessary and that Mary has chosen what is better.
The only thing that is absolutely necessary is abiding in Christ.
The world will always offer us more to do. But if we’re not careful, we’ll spend our lives managing the urgent while neglecting the essential. Nothing is more important than our relationship with God.
Time management is about priorities. It’s about asking critical questions we all need to answer:
What am I building my life around? What gets my best hours, my clearest thoughts, my undivided attention? Am I walking in step with God? What does my schedule suggest that I value and worship?
Jesus didn’t call us to squeeze Him into leftover moments of our overscheduled lives. He called us to seek first His kingdom, to abide in Him, and to come to Him when we’re weary and burdened. Our souls weren’t designed to run on empty. They were created to be fueled by time with God.
The most countercultural thing we can do in our frenetic world is slow down and sit at His feet. Take regular time to pray, to listen, and to remember who we are and whose we are.
This week, as we are undoubtedly encouraging seekers to resist the tyranny of the urgent, we pray you will do the same. Protect your time with God more fiercely than anything else on your calendar. Nothing matters more than nurturing the one relationship that will last forever.
