Turning Off The Noise in Our Lives

Just this past week, so many people have commented to me how busy their lives have become. Sometimes our “to do” lists seem overwhelming and there’s nothing worse than facing the end of a day feeling like nothing was accomplished. Shutting work off after coming home became a daily challenge for me. My family wanted one-hundred percent of my attention, but often I was only able to give them about thirty-percent. My mind was filled with the noise from my day which left me lying awake for hours until finally I could fall asleep. Are we busier today than ever before? Does it feel like time is racing by? A girlfriend shared with me an acronym for busy; Being Under Satan’s Yoke.
The noise in my life equates to the “busy” of my life, encompassing the stuff that robs me of time with both family and faith. Think about this for a moment:

How much time do you spend in front of your computer?
How much time do you spend in front of your TV?
How much time do you spend reading the Bible?

If we truthfully counted the hours dedicated to each of these activities, it becomes quite clear where our true allegiance lies. So what are we willing to do? If I told you having a stronger faith would create a more balanced life, would you believe me?
I love the story in the Bible about Mary and Martha found in the Gospel of Luke. The lives of two sisters illustrate how many of us utilize our time today. Jesus and His disciples came to Martha’s home and while she focused on the details of preparing a meal, Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus, consumed by His presence. Martha is exasperated by Mary’s lack of assistance and demands Jesus to say something to her. Here is Jesus’ response.

“But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
(Luke 10:41-42)

This story is comprised of four sentences, asking us to distinguish the “busy” of our lives from the “good part”. Why do we spend endless hours being busy and few hours if any reading God’s Word? There’s a real battle going on for our time, a strategic attempt to divert our allegiance. The question becomes, who’s winning your time?
Are we the “Martha’s” of the world, preoccupied with the noise that fills our days? If we placed our lives at the feet of Jesus, what impact would this have on changing our circumstances? I think we Christians today suffer from what Jesus describes as having “so little faith”. Most of us believe, but our faith is indeed smaller than a mustard seed. However, the little time we give to God can have the biggest impact on our lives. When we pray, our problems may not go away immediately, but what God gives us is a new perspective on how we should deal with it. I empathize with Martha because my instincts would have mirrored hers. But the “good part” as Jesus says, doesn’t encompass the details of our lives, but the depth of our faith. Even today we all can enjoy the “good part” simply by sitting at the feet of our Savior and meditating on His Word. Find a quiet still place today to open your heart, pray for forgiveness and earnestly seek God on all matters occupying your day. When we turn our lives over to Him, watch how quickly the noise suddenly becomes silenced, and the battle for our time becomes a divine moment to be seized.