Overcoming Spiritual Starvation in a Busy World
Reflections on prioritising God in the face of our time-demanding jobs, lifestyle, and personal projects.
It is a universal truth that whatever occupies most of our time upon waking up and throughout our day is our main priority, even if we’re too ashamed to admit it. Lately, I’ve watched my priorities slowly shift from my fellowship with God to my work (or lack thereof), studies, and many projects I’m managing—some for myself and others as a favour to some friends and family.
It’s so bad that I no longer wake up at 6 a.m. to pray anymore. Instead, I stay up late until 3 a.m. sending out job applications. Then, when I wake up by 7 a.m., I’m usually too tired to commit to my typical long prayer. So, I say a short, non-commital prayer and then return to work. I’ve also been struggling to listen to sermons and study the Bible as intentionally as I normally do. And to make matters worse, this newsletter hasn’t been spared from my recent lack of commitment.
If you ask me why things have been like this lately, the natural excuse would be that I haven’t been able to find the time, but then that would be a lie. Because if I had the time to catch up with trends and friends on social media, plan branding strategies to help me stand out in my career, play a mobile game whenever I was exhausted, and prepare food to eat, then surely I could spare some time to spend with God alone and be mindfully present in the experience.
Time passes by so quickly these days, and although my days are mostly productive work-wise, I find them grossly spiritually unfulfilling. The best way I can describe the feeling is to endure a spiritual fast for so long that you’re spiritually starved to the point of death. Perhaps, that might explain the emptiness I always feel whenever I realize amid work that I haven’t committed to God half of half the attention I’ve devoted to myself and my work lately.
I know God is far too important to take second place to anything or anyone, however valid or important as they may be. Still, this knowledge hasn’t been reflected in my actions or attitude towards God lately, and I owe it to God and myself to do better, starting today.
Sometimes, the things preventing us from spending time with God may be trivial, like movies, mobile games, or physical activity. But other times, they may be important and hard to navigate or let go of, like our jobs, studies, personal development, and even physical or mental health issues. But the truth is, as important as all these are, we can’t afford to let them take precedence over our fellowship with God.
Even if we actively represent God in our conversations at work, school, online, and everywhere else, that’s not enough if we don’t spend time with Him regularly and consistently. As Christians, we need to learn to always put God first in our lives, whether or not we feel motivated or strong enough to. And the first step to achieving this is to put Him first in our daily routines and then remain firmly rooted in the Word throughout the day.
So, starting today (or, rather, tomorrow morning), I have decided to spend enough time with God first thing every morning before doing anything else. And by God’s grace, I will study and practice the Word better than I have these past few days. But as I do this, I would appreciate your support in prayers, just as I’ll be intentionally praying for everyone else who struggles with this particular challenge, trusting that God, who rewards those who diligently seek Him, will renew our strength, zeal, and loyalty towards Him and everything concerning Him as we prioritize Him in our very busy lives.
Questions to Reflect On
What things have been taking most of your time lately, and how have they affected your relationship with God?
What excuses have you used to justify your not spending time with God?
What specific steps can you take to make out time for God amidst your busy schedule and other
The One Thing That Has Blessed Me This Week
The photo below was taken last Saturday after my Tribe meeting, but I found so much closure in the experience and have often caught myself smiling about it this week.
This is so apt for me. Thank you Obinna for these words of encouragement.
I think that we worry about imminent things and make them our priority (I need food and shelter, so I need work, so we focus on that), putting God for 'later' when we have time because he's not going anywhere.
Sometimes we do this with other people around us and we end up neglecting and sometimes losing those relationships. We take them for granted. We take God for granted.
Throughout Lent, I woke up earlier every day (even on weekends) and spent the first hour of my day on Bible study, prayer, etc. It set the perfect tone for the day.
Now that we're out of Lent, I don't hold myself to such a standard as rigidly and wake up later, which means I don't have time... and then the later it gets in the day... the later it gets. I still do my readings, but am not as dedicated to it and it makes me feel terrible.
So, every day, I fight to make Him the priority that He is. Am I 100% successful? No. But when I am, everything is so much better. And I think that's what we should keep in mind - that we might think that God is something that can be delayed, but it's not true. Not only do we not know when our end will come, but because He IS necessary and imminent every single day for all the other priorities we focus on.