We live in a time when it seems nothing stops. We work long hours, don't get enough sleep, don't get enough exercise, deal with pressures in life and generally try to fit 25 hours (or more) into only 24. Even when we analyze what is taking up our time, it seems that there really isn't much that we can cut from our schedules to free up time. And so we continue as we have and remain tired. So what can we do?

When I was at college, I remember one time when the instructors made the point that the time added up to do everything simply exceeded the time available in a given day. The obvious fact was that we couldn't do it all.

I found that curious at first, but then they elaborated that part of the college experience was not only to make the most of the experience but also to make sure we had the right priorities and balance—eliminating what simply was unnecessary. It was reassuring to hear that, but the reality can still be hard to implement.

As the called-out of God, He expects (even demands at times) a different outlook from us in our personal lives, in our relationship with Him and with our relationships with others. He has also had this expectation from the beginning with those with whom He is working.

The prophet Jeremiah was given the almost impossible task of telling the nation of Judah how wrong their lives were and how God was going to punish them. As I read the Bible, it is a consistent point that none of the prophets enjoyed their task and many times became very weary with the rejection and personal attacks. God told Jeremiah something interesting when Jeremiah complained. God said to Jeremiah, "If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? (Jeremiah 12:5).

Part of what God is doing with us now is training us to get used to the increasing pace of the end-time. We must have Christ's strength in us (Philippians 4:13) or Satan will wear us out (Daniel 7:25, King James Version). As God told Jeremiah, if we can't keep up with the runners how are we going to run with the horses? While the pace of life can be tiring, it is important—imperative even—that we learn the right priorities so we can keep up and not be overrun by the pace of life itself.

The question for us then is how much of what fills our day contributes to our Christian calling? To be sure, there are physical things we must take care of (work, family needs, etc.), but the biblical instruction is clear that we must make the spiritual matters of God a priority. Similar to tithing, when we put God first in this matter, He blesses us with more "time" to take care of other things. In putting Him first, we will also find peace (Psalm 119:165) and rest (Matthew 11:29).

Let us then learn to keep up with the runners, so that in time we can run with the horses. UN