Are you good at multitasking? According to research done at Stanford University in 2009, the answer would be no. Their conclusions were that we don’t really multitask, or do more than one thing at the same time. What we actually do is try to focus on more than one thing only to have our brains jerk back and forth between activities. This causes us to be less productive at everything and defeats the purpose of multitasking all together. Our brains are wired to concentrate on one thing at a time in order to do it well. We sacrifice quality for quantity every time.
So, let’s apply this on a spiritual level for a moment. While it is a good practice to try to be conscious of God throughout your day, in the midst of all your other activities, it isn’t the same as setting aside time to just focus on the Lord and nothing else. God wants us to take time to make Him our central focus, our top priority. You have surely experienced what it’s like to be talking to someone who is doing a zillion other things at the same time and you eventually realize that the conversation is getting nowhere. They really aren’t paying attention; they have too many other things jerking their attention back and forth. God wants us to stop our frantic lives for a time apart with Him on a regular basis. It’s the way He has chosen to speak truth and life into our spirits and if we miss it we miss something profoundly important to our growth and effectiveness in God’s kingdom.
But let’s shift perspective for just a moment. Do you realize that God isn’t wired like us in this area? He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. He is the Master when it comes to multitasking. He is all powerful, he knows all things, and He is able to be everywhere at once. He is never spread too thin, He never has too much on His mind to pay attention to your cries, and He is with you wherever you go.
Isaiah 40:27-31 “Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Doesn’t it make sense to set aside time to spend with the One who always gets it right? He has the answers you need and is waiting to share them with you.