Busy for the Lord

May 4, 2022

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” – Colossians 3:17

We are all pretty busy, and that’s fundamentally a good thing.

Of course, being busy can become a bad thing if we let it:
– Not getting proper rest or down time.
– Being “busy bodies” who are constantly doing things but not things that matter. – Allowing our busyness to distract us from time with God.
– Being busy with lesser priorities while greater priorities are neglected.
– Operating with selfish motives in the things we do.

These are dangers for sure, but even in light of them, I believe God wants his people to be pretty busy. The reason is that a busy person is working hard and has lots of regular opportunities to do things for the Lord’s sake. Also, being busy pushes us to our limits and makes us depend on God’s strength and grace.

We were made to go, to do, to work, to engage, to interact, to serve . . .

Have you ever thought about how busy Jesus was? Our Lord spent his time on earth pouring himself out. Yes, he made sure to have daily time with his Father and avoided all the errors I mention above, but the overwhelming picture we get of the Savior in the Gospels is that he was extremely busy. Jesus was a hard worker who was always on the go. He must have been exhausted at the end of most days.

Jesus said, “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day” (John 9:4a), and he led by example, “My Father is working until now, and I am working” (John 5:17b).

Now consider Colossians 3:17. It gives us the key to ensuring that our busyness is the good thing God intends it to be. “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.” That is: Use all the opportunities that your busy life holds to honor Jesus and make a difference for him. Or to put it another way: If you are gonna do something, do it for Jesus. Or again: Let the mission and energy of our Lord be what drives your busy day.

Are you busy? Are you working hard? Are you serving? Are you spent? Good.

Are you depending on Jesus? Are you working as unto him? Are you pouring yourself out for others like him? Are you living life for his name’s sake? Awesome.

Be encouraged and strengthened. You are looking more and more like Jesus every day.