Source: World Venture, November 13, 2018
It took coming to Africa to learn how much busyness has consumed my life. I live in a culture where people work hard, but once they finish, they rest. They spend time with friends. It is a social culture. Many people have no problem sitting around doing nothing when it is not their turn to work. I came with no clear schedule, but with this addiction of always doing something. I started with language learning.
So, if I left my house at 8 am and was interacting with people until about 8 pm I felt satisfied as if I am actually doing the work people sent me here to do. If I got home at 6 pm, there wasn’t quite that much satisfaction. This last year, I lived with girls so my “work” wasn’t just in town, but it was at home—a 24/7 job.
I had this mindset that there are churches and people who have sent me over here to do ministry [and] I needed to represent them well. They have given me money, are praying for me, and if I am sitting at home during the day, I am betraying them. So I did crazy things [to] fill up my schedule.
Most days, I would only be living off of five or six hours of sleep. It is really hot here, and the culture and language can be exhausting. I am not saying this to show you how motivated I am or how much work I am doing. I am telling you this because it is a big problem and not a good thing.
This summer God spoke to me, and asked me why I felt this need to be busy. Why do I need to be going all the time? I am not going to save the world. I can’t even save one person. Jesus is the Savior, not me.
» Read full story and pray for anyone you know who could have written an article like this. Could even be someone you see in the mirror.
Thank you for sharing this article. Most especially, thank you for the call to pray for anyone who feels this way.