Thomas à Kempis wrote, ‘If you wish to grow in your spiritual life, you must not allow yourself to be caught up in the workings of the world. You must find time alone, away from the noise and confusion, from the allure of power and wealth.’ You say, ‘Does that mean God doesn’t want me setting goals and achieving things in life?’ No, quite the opposite!
The Bible says, ‘In His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper’ (vv.2-3 NKJV). What’s the secret of a tree’s fruitfulness? Having deep roots that are connected to life-giving streams of water. And as the demands on your time and energy become greater, you must discipline yourself to spend even more time in the Scriptures, not less.
When your inner life is not in order, your outer life becomes dysfunctional and begins to fall apart. And working harder will only make it happen faster. You will be like the pilot who announced to his passengers, ‘Folks, there is bad news and good news. The bad news is, our instruments have failed and we don’t know where we’re going. The good news is, we’re making great time!’
What’s the answer? David says: ‘I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word’ (Psalm 119:14-16 NKJV).