Time to breathe...

Finally, everyone is out of the office....I can take a deep breath! I've got about one hour before I leave the office. We're going to a banquet about 2 1/2 hours away. It will be fun.

One hour. A lot can happen in an hour.

Sometimes, though, it seems like an hour isn't long enough. Like right now - an hour doesn't seem long enough for me to really dig into some of the stuff I need to work on. Just about the time I'd get into a groove, I'd have to close down and leave. It's almost not worth it. (Except that whatever time I give to that project is not really wasted, is it?)

I think I have that attitude far too often. "Well, there's no need for me to sit down and read the Bible right now. I don't have time to research what I read to help me understand it." Or how about: "I don't have time to call so-and-so. As soon as I call them to see what's going on or check on them, they'll want to talk for too long." There are times that this type of attitude is legitimate - there really isn't time. However, most times, I simply don't want to give the time it would take to do those things I should (but may not want to do).

I can really identify with Paul when he said, "When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway." (Romans 7:19) This is a continuous struggle for me, but I am getting better at doing the right thing. It all comes down to putting aside my own will and learning to walk in tune with the Spirit. Today's devotional from "God is Enough" by Hannah Whitall Smith dealt with this directly:

Some say that the emotions are the governing power in our nature, but I think we all know from experience that there is within us, behind our emotions and behind our wishes, an independent self that decides everything and controls everything. Our emotions belong to us and are suffered and enjoyed by us, but they are not ourselves. If God is to take possession of us, it must be into this central will or personality that He enters. If, then, He is reigning there by the power of His Spirit, all the rest of our nature must come under His sway."

That's pretty powerful stuff. I know that I want to give God that control in my life, so that the rest of who I am is a reflection of Him.