“Busy” doesn’t mean “productive.” In our desire to get more, be more, and do more, are we becoming the walking dead? Are we seeing life as meaningless and irrelevant?
Each day becomes a blur as we wake up worn out and trying to pack something more into our already over-scheduled schedules. It reminds me of the classic scenes that repeat over and over in the movie, All That Jazz, of Bob Fosse. The frazzled, overworked, and depressed choreographer who looks in the mirror each morning, pumping himself up and saying, “It’s showtime!” Sadly, many are running on empty today, looking for a way out and reaching for their pocket crack – their cell phone to find answers and hope.
Are you one of the “walking dead” trying to balance it all?
When Moses led the Children of Israel out of Egypt, it took convincing not only the Pharoah but the Jewish people themselves. We read in the Bible about the Plagues God sent, but have you ever thought how much convincing Moses needed to do to get the Jews to pack up and leave? Just how fed up were they with where they lived and what they endured? What’s our reaction when life’s muck hits us between the eyes? Are we ready to get off the treadmill, trust the ever-present and living God, and let Him move us to a better place?
Want to get out?
Here are some suggestions of where to begin:
Use your smartphone and get smart. Schedule your personal time with Jesus at least four or more times a week and make it a priority. Research has proven that one to three times a week won’t cut it. It’s why I wrote my devotional, Hope 4 Today: Stay Connected to God in a Distracted Culture, based on a four-day format. Make it a priority.
Get serious about how you spend your free time. Be mindful of how much time you’re spending on black hole apps, games, and social media platforms that are sucking the air out of your life. Statistics reveal that the average global user is on TikTok 3.5 hours a day and 4.5 hours a day on Facebook. Get radical. Delete apps on your primary screen that are not essential. Smartphones also have a feature that monitors how much time you’re spending on them. Use it and stop falling into the vortex.
Focus on caring for others and not just collecting friends. Freeing your eyes from being face-planted on your digital device allows you more time to see those around you. Build real relationships and not just ones on social media platforms. Try volunteering for something you feel passionate about. You’d be surprised how it will reward personal growth and friendships that really matter.
Finally, reach out and share your story and the life-giving message of Jesus. Many are hurting today, are caught up in the tornadic whirlwind, and need help to get out. They’re looking for answers and solutions, searching for happiness, not realizing that it’s the joy of knowing Jesus that their soul is craving. He alone can resurrect the walking dead. He alone restores life.
It is “showtime.” It’s time to show the world that God is with them amid the chaos. He restores that which has been taken, even what the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:23).
