Topic: Stop and Smell the Roses [Joyce Meyer Devotional 16 November 2020]
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Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest . . .— Matthew 11:28 (AMPC)
Much of the world is in a hurry, always rushing; yet very few people even know where they are going in life. People rush to get to yet another event that has no real meaning for them, or that they really don’t even want to attend. We hurry so much we finally come to a place where we cannot slow down.
I can remember the days when I worked so hard and hurried so much that even if I took a vacation, it was almost over by the time I geared down enough to actually rest. Constantly hurrying definitely kept me from having peace in my life, and it still can if I don’t pay attention. Life is too precious to rush through it.
Sometimes I find that a day has gone by in a blur; at the end of it, I know I was very busy all day yet cannot really remember enjoying much, if any, of it. That’s why I’ve committed to learn to do things in God’s rhythm, not the world’s pace. Jesus was never in a hurry when He was here on earth, and God is absolutely not in a hurry now. Ecclesiastes 3:1 (AMPC) states, To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven .
We should let each thing in our lives have its season, and realize we can enjoy that season without rushing into the next one. Our pace of living affects the quality of our lives. When we eat too fast, we don’t properly digest our food; when we rush through life, we don’t properly digest it, either. God has given life to us as a gift, and what a pitiful shame it would be to do nothing but rush through each day and never, as they say, “stop and smell the roses.” Each thing we do in life has a sweet fragrance, and we need to learn to take it in and enjoy the aroma.
Prayer Starter: Father, please give me the grace, energy and time to do life at a pace that allows me to enjoy the journey, and to be fully present in each moment. Thank You for the gift of life. In Jesus’ name, amen.