Devotional: Has Your Soul Caught Up With Your Body?

This time of year is known for being busy…very busy! My countdown clock on my phone shows that we have 19 days until Christmas Day! How will you fill those precious few days?

I would guess that you already have a list of things to do, but If you don’t, take a few minutes to brainstorm what you need or want to do before Christmas. Just dump all your thoughts on a sheet of paper. You can go back and weed through the list later to develop a more specific plan.

Now that you have a list, how can we prevent all of the tasks on your list from taking over your life? I think we can learn from what Christ did when He was in a busy time. He prayed! The more we have to do, the more essential it is that we spend time in prayer first.

The book of Mark is known as “The Gospel of the Holy Hurry.” Mark only records three times that Jesus prayed. Mark 1:35, (after being busy healing people), Mark 6:46, (after the Feeding of the 5000), and Mark 14:32-35, (after a BUSY week of teaching, dealing with very antagonistic Jews, telling His friends farewell, and facing the crucifixion the next day). What we learn from Jesus is that busyness is no excuse for prayerlessness!

Thinking of busyness reminds me of some Americans who went to Africa on a safari with a group of African guides. The first morning, they got up and they rushed. The second morning, they got up and they rushed. The third morning, they got up and they rushed. Now, this is typical of Americans, isn’t it?—always rushing somewhere. The fourth morning, the Americans got up to rush, and they found the African guides sitting underneath a tree. One of the Americans hollered at them and said, “Come on, let’s go, we are in a hurry.” At that, the spokesperson for the African guides stood up and said, “We no go today. We rest today. To let our souls catch up with our bodies!”

How long has it been since you stopped long enough to let your soul catch up with your body? How long has it been since you paused long enough to hear the still small voice of God in your soul? Let’s not let this Christmas season get too busy to pray!

Written by WMU of Texas President Earl Ann Bumpus