NO TIME FOR IDLENESS

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Have you ever gotten into trouble when you had a little too much time on your hands with nothing to do?

The Bible warns us about idleness.

Ecclesiastes 10:18

Because of laziness the building decays, And through idleness of hands the house leaks.

I will be honest, I do my best to keep moving and doing because when I down-shift and slide into idle, my mind tends to take me to places I would rather not go.

Places like regret, pity, frustration, or worse; you know... sinful places.

St Benedict said "Idleness is the enemy of the soul” and Henry Manning commented that "To have too much to do is for most (people) safer than to have too little."

That is the case for me.

I like having something to do, because if I don’t I find myself slipping into old patterns; wasting time being "less than productive"; "less than 'pastory'".

You ever struggle like that?

The enemy loves it when we shift into idle, when we are coasting. For it is then our minds become fertile ground for him to bring temptation or discontentment.

You see often the true measure of our walk with Christ and our faith is revealed when there is “nothing to do”. "It is what you do when you have nothing to do that reveals what you are,” someone once penned.

The truth is there are many accounts in Scripture of folks who were upended by idle times and idle minds.

David entertained and acted on his lust.

Solomon’s “boredom” led to a house full of wives, concubines and buckets of lament. And there are more.

But the danger of idleness is not reserved for those “back in the day”. It is a very real trap of our enemy.

But there is a way to guard against the trap!

Galatians 5:13, the foundational verse for our FREEDOM ministry, spells out the way to guard against the temptations that usually accompany an idle mind.

It says,

Galatians 5:13

…use your freedom (freedom of time applies here) to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows.

Want your walk with Christ to grow and flourish? Turn those idle times into serving times!

Don’t allow yourself or your mind to shift into idle. Don’t allow temptations or old thoughts to occupy space in your head. Instead when you find yourself with time on your hands, looks for an opportunity to serve. Better yet, use the time for prayer and ask GOD where He wants you to serve.

Instead of being idle, seek inspiration!

Philippians 4:8

…you’ll do best by FILLING YOUR MINDS AND MEDITATING on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will WORK YOU into his most excellent harmonies.

See that? GOD wants to WORK you! So let HIM! Let's get those minds off idle and into gear and ready to serve!

I love you all!

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney