Less than 150 years ago life was drastically different than it is now. People got out of bed when the sun came up, not to the buzzing of an alarm clock. They worked until the heat of the day and took a 2-3 hour break for lunch, sleep, and recreation. Their schedules were not dominated by calendars, email, voicemail, travel, meetings, etc. We often talk about a slower, simpler life, but how often do we take measures to make that happen? We all remark that the more advanced technology becomes, the more stressful life is, not the reverse.

Yet in all of this we have commands from God like “Be STILL and know that I am God.” Sometimes in life (a lot more frequently than any of us are accustomed to) we need to slow down. The Bible says that Jesus “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed”. He understood the importance of refilling His tanks. We must do the same. We must OFTEN withdraw to lonely places to be with our Heavenly Father.

Suggestions: When you’re not at work, don’t be at work. Don’t answer work-related calls. As long as it’s not an emergency, you can get to it when you can get to it. Don’t read your work emails when you’re not at work. Designate time every day to relax, be still, and pray and meditate on the Word. Be still…and know that God is God.

I remember as a kid once I got a big pack of Skittles. I knew I liked them, and like any 9-year-old kid, I had no self-discipline. I ate every Skittle in that king-size bag in about ten minutes. I’ll never forget the feeling of nausea that slowly grew the more I ate. I remember thinking “I should stop eating these." But I remember competing thoughts like “But it tastes good," and “Now there’s only a few left." I felt absolutely horrible after I finished the whole bag. Since then I’ve still enjoyed Skittles, but I’ve never been able to eat more than a handful at any one time.

We all want good things in life, and God wants to give us those good things. However, we can’t be like my 9-year-old self and simply desire it all right now.

In Exodus 23 God promises the Israelites that He will drive the Canaanites out of the Promised Land, but not all at once. In verses 29 and 30 He says that He will drive them out little by little until they have increased and possessed the land. That’s how God wants to work in our lives. We want God’s blessings to be like winning the lottery—all at once, right now, but God is more interested in the character that is built as we learn fun lessons like contentment and patience.