God gave His people an interesting command: ‘Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord’ (Exodus 34:23-24 NIV). Three times a year they were to stop working and spend time with God, worshipping Him, seeking His guidance, and getting direction for the future. Imagine what our lives would be like if we took the time to do that. In today’s society, we can think that success and value comes from being busy and constantly working. But God wants us to take time out to wait on Him. This might seem costly to us, but in that verse, God says ‘I will enlarge your territory.’ Instead of losing, we’ll gain. God told the people that no one would take their land while they were away seeking Him. When we seek God, we don’t lose out. When we retreat, we actually advance. God also told His people that He would ‘drive out the nations’ that lay before them. While we worship God and wait on Him, He’ll fight our battles. And God’s never lost a battle. In the Psalms, we’re instructed to ‘Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart.’ And in Exodus it says: ‘The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still’ (14:14 NIV). When we’re facing a battle and we’re feeling overwhelmed, we need to be still before God and trust Him to fight for us. We need to stop striving and trying to fix everything on our own, and instead spend time seeking God and His wisdom. 

What Now?

However busy you are today, make space in your day to retreat and spend time with God. Use that time to pray, worship, or read the Bible.