How to Seek God in the Busyness of Life

There I was…6:00am, again, and I hit the snooze for the seventh time. In the midst of an 80+ hour work week, I was totally exhausted. 

As I reached over to hit the snooze button one more time, something grabbed my heart. 

It’s time to get up, Alyssa. Don’t miss this time.

Deep down, I knew that if I were to make time for the Lord today, right now would be my only opportunity. So, with an aching body, I got up and obeyed that tug.

While I would love to tell you that this was the only instance where I’ve struggled to prioritize my quiet time with God, it’s definitely not. 

It has been a continual journey for many years…a journey that can become even harder as the seasons do.

I think I am pretty safe to assume that I’m not the only one who regularly juggles a crazy schedule, or the only one who can easily lose motivation to meet with God in the busyness.

It is so easy to become totally overwhelmed with the tasks of work, school, community, and home life — we often wonder if there are even enough hours in the day to get it all done.

Through it all, we know that intentional time with God is essential, but how do we pursue Him in the midst of the crazy? When life is just overwhelming, how do we find the time?

I want to encourage you in this journey by sharing 4 practical truths that have been (and still are!) essential to me in pursuing Christ in the midst of a crazy-busy lifestyle.

1. Remember the purpose.

It’s so easy to come to God’s Word with the misconception that we are coming to get something out of our time with Him. Remember, we meet with God to know God…to know His character, to experience the freedom His Spirit gives. And the more we come to know Who He is, the more that changes us. 

We don’t come to build tally marks. We come to have a relationship with our Creator. 

Psalm 25:14 is such an encouragement to me… “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He makes known to them His covenant.”

When we meet with Jesus, we are pursuing a friendship. This is the kind of God that pursues us!

2.  Put away the distractions.

The struggle is real, y’all. Growing up, I pretty much had a self-diagnosed case of ADHD, where I would get distracted exceptionally easily. This has carried over some into my adult life, and, as you can imagine, proves to be a battle when pursuing quiet time. 

We live in such a distracted culture. Cell phones, social media, TV, and the internet are within the most ready grasp. We have to be very intentional in putting these distractions away.

We can’t build a relationship with God distracted. Instead of coming to Him with a divided heart, we must take the important action steps to come focused with our whole heart…

“Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart…”

Psalm 119:2

Know your areas of struggle. Create clear, strict boundaries for yourself, and then stick to them. Pursue seeking God with your whole, undivided attention.

3. Get accountability.

Sister, you weren’t meant to journey life on your own! Seasons can be hard. Circumstances can overwhelm us. We need the encouragement from other believers, and also need to be that encouragement to others!

1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up…”

We were meant to build up and be built up. I can’t encourage you enough — find a solid friend. Set goals together, make commitments, and hold each other accountable in pursuing them! 

And lastly…

4. Show up.

Even when the feelings aren’t there. Even when the day feels like a blow…show up, friend. When the days are long and the energy is shot, show up anyway. 

God doesn’t ask us to come to Him perfect and put together…He just simply asks us to come.

“Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest…”

Matthew 11:28

When we make the effort to show up continually, coming to God, offering up our whole hearts to Him, He will meet us there. He will give us rest. And He will fill us abundantly beyond what we could ever ask or think. 

I pray this will leave you encouraged and equipped, knowing that it is possible to seek God on the regular, even in the midst of a crazy schedule.

I would love to hear from you! Tell me in comments below:

• Do you struggle with making a regular quiet time a priority? If so, what do you think hinders you the most?
• What are some of your personal favorite quiet time resources?