Bottom Line Upfront: Make Time for God

Half an hour's meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy. Then a full hour is needed "— Saint Francis de Sales

The truth is that we are all busy. In day two of this series, Father Joe talked about how making prayer a priority in our busy lives is not always easy, yet it is always worth it. When we give God our time, he multiplies it.

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

"Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you." (Luke 6:38)

The best thing we can do in the new year is to make more time for God. If we do this, our year will be more fruitful and more peaceful. Regardless of what happens in our life, we will be closer to Christ and better able to deal with the struggles, temptations, and hardships that will inevitably visit us at some point in the new year. While we might know this is true, putting our faith into action and committing ourselves to giving God more of our time takes discipline. Yet when we think about the things we have accomplished in our life, we can see that most of the time they required hard work and effort on our part. We might fall for the false notion that the Christian walk will be an easy one or that somehow just believing in God will be enough to avoid hardships and sorrow in this life. Yet we know this is not true.

Francis de Sales was a wise man. He understood that when things are hard, we need God. When we get busy in the affairs of this world, then we need Our Lord even more. Let us resolve in the new year to live in the present moment, to give each day to God, and to make more time for him in our busy lives. We can also remember that throughout each day are moments in which we can make a decision to act according to God's will or pass up on the opportunity to honor Him. "Every moment comes to us pregnant with a command from God, only to pass on and plunge into eternity, there to remain forever what we have made of it" Introduction to the Devout Life (Saint Francis de Sales).

If you remember one thing:

Our time on this earth is short so let’s give more of it to God so that we may become more like Him while we are here and live with Him in life eternal.

The day that is past must not judge the day present, nor the present day judge that which is past; it is only the Last Day that judges all. — Saint Francis de Sales.

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