How to thrive in a busy world

Our world and lives can be incredibly busy. Everyone seems to be ‘on the go’. With everything going on around us, we can easily settle for mediocrity or work ourselves into the ground. 

But God’s will for us is not just survival, or burnout! Here are some tips for you to thrive in this busy world.

Photographer: Carmen Rose. Hair & Makeup: Zoe Karlis. Model: Olivia Jonasz at Chadwick Models.

Trust God

No doubt you will have heard, and maybe even often said this phrase. We use it to encourage, challenge and offer comfort to those facing difficult situations. By telling them to trust God, we are basically telling them to look beyond the situation and to God. However, rarely do we apply this same principle in other areas of our lives, such as work. We tend to compartmentalise our lives and only give God control of certain bits. 

I want to challenge you to trust God with every area of your life, including your professional life. Give your ideas to Him and trust that He will bring the right opportunities your way. Quit trying to do it all on your own. We are likely to experience burnout when we do this. The writer of the book of Proverbs in the Bible puts it this way: ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding’ (Proverbs 3:5).

Do not lean on what you think is best or to what you are used to. Rather, trust God to lead you in all that you do. Trust that He will bring you that new opportunity and trust that His ways are better, and He will come through for you.

‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart’

Be diligent

If we are to thrive in our world today, we need to be diligent at honing and refining our craft, whatever that may be. In this digital age, we are bombarded with adverts and videos for ‘quick fixes’. People are labelled as ‘overnight successes’. However, as Philip Stanhope said, ‘whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well; and nothing can be done well without attention’. It is those who are diligent in their work that thrive and do well. 

Avoid shortcuts and cutting corners. The wisdom of this principle can be seen in the difference between couture dressmaking and fast fashion. Couture dressmakers are extremely diligent with their work. The time and effort applied in fast fashion cannot be compared to that of couture clothing, and the results speak for themselves. Diligence yields great results.

‘Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well…’

Rest

We need to rest in order to trust God and be diligent. To trust God, we must learn to rest in Him and His will for us. We need to learn to rest in the fact that He has our best interest at heart, and He is in control. 

Not only that, but we must also learn to rest from our hard work, in order to do better work. Our world is so fast-paced, it is assumed that the busier you are, the more productive you will be. So, we strive and fill our days with work. However, this is often bad for us and our work. We see in the first book of the Bible that God rested from creating the world. ‘By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so, on the seventh day He rested from all His work’ (Genesis 2:2).

If God sees the importance of rest, who are we not to? In an increasingly busy and chaotic world, it is important for us to take time out to rest, find moments of peace and quiet and trust that God is with us.

WORDS BY

Onome Beberi