AP

Too Much Beavering

Little children can be real busy beavers. You only have to watch them to realize that often they are attempting to do four things at once. Even before starting school, they immersed in all sorts of projects. There is the detailed colouring project they are intently working on – it’s all just got to be  right. And then there are those large puzzles – all the pieces have to fit exactly. And then there is the “must do event” – I’ve got to go and push that toy truck up and down the cement path for a while, and hopefully be able to annoy the cat at the same time!! And so it goes and on and on!
What they sometimes forget is that necessary bathroom stop. Too busy you know. Too much to do. At times like these, you really wish you had a remote control to point at the child, press “pause”, and so avert a messy situation. But it doesn’t work that way does it? Children not only do not have a “pause” button, but they don’t even know the meaning of the word!

Some of us have a father, actually a Heavenly Father, who’s saying to us: ‘It’s time to hit “pause”.’ But we’re moving so fast, busy about so many things, that we are completely focussed on the demands and the projects in front of us – work, hobbies, looking after (grand) children, charity work, house work, tuckshop duties, shopping, preparing for holidays, and more. Often we are no different to our “busy-beaver-children”. We even pride ourselves in the fact that we have no “pause” button, and jokingly say “Pause? Pause? – what’s that mean?”

To live like that is not a good idea. In Psalm 46:10, The One who knows what is best for us – our heavenly Father – says: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Hit “pause” and remember who’s really in charge here, whose battle this really is, and whose plans you’re supposed to be pursuing. God may be telling you to slow down or to stop right now, so He can show you some things that you are never going to see while you are on the run. Some things you will never understand the need for, if you keep going at break-neck speed.

It could be that you’ve been running ahead of the Lord’s timing, or you’ve been pursuing what you want instead of what He wants. You may even be going at this break-neck speed for the particular purpose of ignoring God.  Isaiah quotes the Lord as saying: “Woe to the obstinate children…to those who carry out plans that are not Mine…” (Isaiah 30:1). Those are sobering words. Often we can’t see that we’re trying desperately to make something work that wasn’t God’s idea in the first place. He has to pull us over to the side of the road for us to realize that we’re on the wrong road, serving the wrong master, and that we are in fact heading down a “dead-end” street.

You’ve been neglecting the regular timeout that God calls you to have. The Bible remains a closed book; the communication line of prayer continues to be engaged from your end; as a parent you do not teach your children to love and understand the Bible, nor what it means to follow Christ as Lord and Saviour. The Lord’s Day is not given a thought, and you have stopped going to worship in Church on Sundays. As someone said: “You’re all accelerator and no brakes, you’re violating God’s created order of taking regular rest. It’s possible that God’s been saying some very important things to you, things that would bring sense to your swirling world, but you can’t hear Him because you’re running so fast, you refuse to press the correct “pause” button – the one that will put you back in touch with God, and improve the communication line enormously. Yes, it’s time to hit “pause”. Don’t ignore His call to “be still and know that He is God.”

If we don’t choose to slow down, He will as the 23rd Psalm says, “make us lie down in green pastures.” He has many creative ways to get you to slow down if you don’t choose to slow down – health, finances, crises, family problems. He asks us to pause, or ultimately makes us pause, not to punish us, but to refit us. He’s wanting to slow you down for work that needs to be done, for refuelling that you desperately need, for retooling, or for redirecting you back into the centre of His will.

He’s wired us to do what His Son did at the beginning of His unbelievably busy days here on earth – to spend quiet time with Him (Luke 5:16; 16:12; see Mark 6:31). To hit ‘pause’ each new day so we can hear our Master’s voice before we hear any other, appropriate our Master’s resources and experience our Master’s healing touch and guiding hand, not to mention being overwhelmed once again by the love He has shown in giving us His Son to die for us on the Cross. When you don’t hit “pause,” you’ll end up running right past the Lord God almighty. Pausing, trusting, loving and obeying – that’s the way to REAL life. 

• Guido Kettniss