Christmas Busyness

The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who watches his way preserves his life. (Proverbs 16:17) 

When Christmas rolls around, it seems like there is too much to do and not enough time to do it. This might be the most wonderful time of the year, but it is also the craziest and busiest time of the year, as well. 

It seems like at the end of every day, we are all exhausted trying to get everything done on our to-do lists. We have shopping to finish, decorations to put up, cookies to bake, and family to see. Oftentimes, in the midst of all of this harried activity, we find little or no time for God, because we have not made spending time with Him a priority.

However, the writer of Proverbs refers to the “highway of the upright.” He's saying that for us to live uprightly, we must put the Lord first, devoting ourselves to spending time with Him in prayer, meditation and study. We must acknowledge that God is in charge of our days and make Him a part of everything we do. When we do these things, we are on a highway that leads us away from evil and sin, so we can walk uprightly before God. 

In our high-speed world, it's so important that we deliberately slow down and become intentional in our commitment to spending time with God. Just like the psalmist talks about, we must continue waiting on the Lord (Psalm 40:1 and 130:5), in the sense of resting in His presence and depending on His promises. We must learn to follow what the Lord says and “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) 

Unless we slow down our busy lives, we will never develop a close relationship with God, and we will miss hearing Him when He speaks. But when we plan our days to include time with God, He sustains us through the rush hours of life. And only then will we experience true rest, peace, comfort, and joy, even in the craziest and busiest time of the year.