Work Hard, But Don't Forget To Be Still

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." -Colossians 3:23-24

Today, I got to start the governor school! I was very excited and a little nervous, since we didn't know the majority of people. It is usually going to be just in the morning, but we have an all day orientation this week since it is so different from regular high school.
Anyways, they were asking for academic and career goals, and I'm in the science and math program, but that's not at all what I want to go into in life. But God has helped me to realize that even though I can't take Christian classes in high school, I can excel at whatever classes I do take, to give him glory. Especially toward the end of last year, I was thinking, "Why am I taking all these hard classes that don't even relate to my future career?" And I realized that God wants me to try hard and excel. We should be working for him, like it says in Colossians. I have also realized that working for God means working with integrity, dedication, and honesty. And not working so hard at other stuff that you don't have time for him. Some nights I'll have too much homework to read my Bible or even think about praying, and that's not at all how it should be.



I thought this picture worked perfectly to show not to get so tied up in work,
that you don't have time for God!

If you have a stressful life, even if it feels completely full and you couldn't possibly have time for God, there has to be something you can lay aside. I decided not to take AP US History for this coming school year, because I knew there was way too much homework involved to allow enough time for God. Last year, I never got to go to our church on Wednesday night, but now with our new pastor and a new bible study starting, I really want to go every week! I definitely don't spend as much time with God as I want to. My biggest distraction in my computer!


Some practical things to lay aside and replace with quiet time with God:

• Checking Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram more than once a day- I understand the need to check them occasionally!
• Reading other books -read the Bible instead!
• Watching a movie (for the 24th time) - that's two hours of time you could have with God!
• Same goes for watching TV!
• Going out to eat - eating at home saves so much extra time (and money!)
• Lower priorities - God SHOULD be your #1 priority, therefore we should be able to let go of some others if that's what is necessary. If you are in a club at school or on a committee that takes up too much of your spare time, you can stop. You don't have to do it because it's the right thing to volunteer. If it is not allowing for time with God, it can go.

A few questions to maybe challenge you to change some things in your life:

1. Do you treat every project with high standards as if you are handing it in to God?
    If not, try working on those values of integrity and dedication.

2. Do you have enough time in your schedule to spend time with God, even on the busy days?
If not, really try to set aside a certain time every day to spend with God. Read a devotion in the morning, pray before meals, pray in the car, read your Bible while waiting on an appointment. I don't set aside time sometimes and that's when I don't "have time" to pray or read.

3. What can you change in your life to allow more time with God?

I am praying for you and I hope that you work for the Lord and save time for just Him!

~Heather