Ain't nobody got time for God
From finishing bio homework plus reading a book that’s due the next day plus doing chores and having some “downtime” for yourself, it seems that God does not really fit in this equation. Even when we do find time to pray, it seems as if we are too tired to even do so because we have left it at the bottom of our list of things to do. No one ever said that balancing life’s everyday tasks and challenges would come so easy and sometimes we feel as if we are facing all of life’s obstacles by ourselves. However, do we constantly think about God’s presence and guidance when we encounter such obstacles?
When Jesus Christ was still on earth as a human being and preached from region to region, he assured his apostles and his followers that God is always with us, despite the difficulties that may arise. As mentioned in Deuteronomy 31: 8 “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Let’s go back to a few thousand years ago. When the apostles knew that the teachings and popularity of Jesus were causing political tension, some of them were very weary of being affiliated with the known breaker of norms.. Judas, out of all the apostles “sold” Jesus to the authorities for money and tension continued to grow. When Jesus died on the Cross, the apostles felt lonely and felt like they had no more guidance because Jesus was physically no longer with them. Afterwards, the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles during Pentecost and ensured that God’s presence was still with them to continue spreading the Word of God all over the world throughout time. For it is indicated in the Bible that “when they finished praying, the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim God’s message with boldness” - Acts 4:31. The apostles were filled with the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit and continued the work of God in their lives.
Like Judas, many youth some two thousand years later today have betrayed Jesus and traded him for other worldly things such as money, relationships with other people and sometimes even our time being spent on social media. In our troubling times, we even feel as if the whole world is on our shoulders and that our problems or anxieties are greater than us – but who is greater than all of this? Brothers and sister in Christ, let us remind ourselves that Jesus died on the Cross to save us from our sins and that God has conquered death through his resurrection. Jesus tells us to carry our crosses, but we must always prayerfully remind ourselves that Jesus has already carried the greatest one for us. There is no problem too big or anxiety too small that cannot be resolved or taken away as long as we find God’s presence, through the Holy Spirit that remain with us always.
A truly busy person is somebody who has time to accommodate their everyday essential tasks along with spending sufficient time with God and finding balance between everything. Whether it’s putting our phone away for 15 minutes or taking a break from studying or even spending Friday evenings in adoration, let us place ourselves away from the noise of our earthly lives and find God’s presence in silent prayer.
