The Spiritual Cost of Being Too Busy | Revival Through His Presence

Aug 23, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Staying When Chapel Ends

Revival often begins in unremarkable moments where ordinary people choose to linger. At Asbury University, 19 students stayed after a routine chapel service, unaware their decision would spark a 16-day outpouring of worship. Their willingness to remain in the room—despite schedules, obligations, and cultural pressure to rush—created space for God’s tangible presence to overwhelm them. Revival isn’t manufactured through grand plans but through simple obedience to stay where God is moving. What if holiness is found not in doing more, but in refusing to leave too soon? [13:54]

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10, NIV)

Reflection: When have you rushed away from a moment with God because it felt routine or inconvenient? What might change if you treated the next “ordinary” spiritual practice as a doorway to His presence?

Day 2: Choosing the Better Part

Martha’s frustration with Mary reveals a tension between productivity and presence. Jesus gently redirects Martha’s busy hospitality, affirming Mary’s choice to sit at His feet. Service for God can unintentionally become a distraction from God Himself. Revival flourishes when we prioritize being with Jesus over performing for Him. The “one thing” Mary chose—unhurried communion—is still the fuel for sustainable faith. [26:43]

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42, NIV)

Reflection: Where does your desire to “do for God” risk overshadowing your capacity to “be with God”? How might you carve out intentional space to simply sit with Him this week?

Day 3: Losing Time in the Sweetness

Worship leaders at Asbury described losing track of time as God’s presence saturated the room. What began as a few extra minutes of singing stretched into hours of unplanned adoration. Unlike performative worship focused on setlists or emotional crescendos, revival-oriented worship prioritizes lingering in the “sweetness” of Christ. When our aim shifts from curating experiences to encountering Jesus, temporal concerns fade. [30:00]

“My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek.” (Psalm 27:8, NIV)

Reflection: When did you last lose track of time in prayer, Scripture, or worship? What distractions or agendas might you need to release to experience this kind of unhurried communion?

Day 4: Interruptions Over Checklists

The Asbury revival wasn’t scheduled—it interrupted. Our culture trains us to treat faith as a task to complete (devotions checked, services attended). But revival thrives when we let God disrupt our efficiency. Like the worship leader who stopped critiquing song repetitions to focus on Christ, we must surrender our need for control. Holiness often hides in the unplanned moments we initially resent. [31:21]

“The Lord replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’” (Exodus 33:14, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you prioritized spiritual checklists over spontaneous responsiveness to God’s nudges? How could you create margin this week for divine interruptions?

Day 5: The Question That Anchors Presence

“Am I rushing past God right now?” This question, posed throughout the sermon, cuts through autopilot faith. The Asbury students stayed because they sensed something sacred in a mundane moment. Revival begins when we recognize God’s nearness in the ordinary—a commute, a coffee break, a chaotic morning. Presence isn’t a location but a posture: choosing to believe He is here, even when He feels hidden. [39:54]

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (John 15:4, NIV)

Reflection: Where do you most struggle to believe God is actively present in your daily routines? What one practical step could help you “remain” aware of Him today?

Sermon Summary

Revival is not just chasing big moments, signs, or supernatural experiences. Revival is a rebirth in faith, where something dormant wakes up again by the Spirit of God. The Christian faith is not all about a Sunday experience, a stage, a worship band, lights, or a well-timed moment that hits the soul. The Christian faith is about experiencing the very real presence of God, not just on Sundays, but in every situation and every moment.

The presence of God becomes the place where revival actually begins. Revival begins when people stop rushing past God, when hurry slows down long enough to recognize that God is already present. The question is not whether God is extraordinary, because God is extraordinary in every way. The question is whether people are present enough to recognize his nearness.

The Asbury outpouring shows how extraordinary moments can begin in very ordinary circumstances. A regular Wednesday chapel service ended, most students left for class and lunch, and nineteen students simply stayed. Those nineteen students sensed that God was doing something, and they chose not to leave. The Lord fell in a sweet, peaceful, thick kind of way, and what began with lingering became sixteen days of worship, prayer, confession, and the tangible presence of God.

Busyness becomes one of the biggest enemies of staying. People move from meeting to meeting, class to lunch, work to practice, church to brunch, and even sacred moments get squeezed into the next thing on the calendar. The holy thing may not always be doing more. The holy thing may be staying just a little longer when God is tugging on the heart.

Luke 10 puts that tension right in front of the church through Martha and Mary. Martha is serving Jesus, and her service is not condemned. But Martha is so distracted by serving Jesus that she is missing Jesus right in front of her. Mary chooses what is better because she sits at the feet of Jesus and listens.

Prayer is not a transaction where God is treated like someone who hands out what is needed. Prayer is participation, a place where heaven and earth overlap and the soul becomes present to the God who is already present. Revival asks whether God can interrupt the schedule, the plan, the production, and the rush. Staying with Jesus does not manufacture revival, but it recognizes reality: God is already here, and he is worth staying for.

Key Takeaways

1. Revival starts by slowing down. [12:00] Revival begins when hurry stops controlling the soul. The presence of God is not absent from ordinary life, but busyness can make his nearness feel invisible. Slowing down is not laziness or withdrawal, but a holy refusal to sprint past the God who is already there. [12:00]
2. Ordinary moments can become holy. [20:09] The Asbury outpouring did not begin with hype, strategy, or a scheduled revival. It began after a normal chapel, on a normal Wednesday, when nineteen students chose to stay. God’s kingdom often hides extraordinary grace inside ordinary circumstances, and attentiveness becomes the doorway into wonder. [20:09]
3. Service can still miss Jesus. [28:16] Martha’s work was not evil, and her desire to serve Jesus was not mocked. But Jesus exposed how even good service can become a distraction when it replaces being present with him. Mary’s posture at his feet shows that love for Jesus must not be reduced to activity for Jesus. [28:16]
4. Prayer is participation, not transaction. [34:58] Prayer is not merely a place to ask what God can do next. Prayer is a way of being with God, where heaven and earth overlap and the heart learns to remain before him. Requests have a place, but the deepest gift in prayer is not something from God, but God himself. [34:58]
5. Staying recognizes God is here. [42:56] Staying does not force God to arrive or manufacture a spiritual experience. Staying simply acknowledges the truth that God is already present, already speaking, already near. The invitation is simpler than it often seems: stay because Jesus is worth staying for.

## [42:56]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[08:31] - Revive and Genuine Revival
[10:54] - Experiencing God’s Presence
[12:00] - Stop Rushing Past God
[13:25] - The Asbury Outpouring Begins
[16:27] - Nineteen Students Stay
[18:32] - Ordinary Moments, Extraordinary Presence
[21:44] - Busyness Blocks Staying
[26:09] - Mary, Martha, and Jesus
[30:45] - Letting God Interrupt the Schedule
[34:58] - Prayer as Participation
[38:16] - Do Not Rush Past the Tug
[39:34] - Asking the Weekly Question
[42:19] - Staying Recognizes God Is Here
[43:57] - Closing Prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Luke 10:38-42
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, 'Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!' 'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'” [26:09]

Matthew 28:20
“and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” [44:14]

Hebrews 13:5
“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'” [44:14]

Observation questions

In Luke 10, what are Mary and Martha each doing when Jesus is in the house, and how does Jesus describe Martha’s condition?
What details stand out in the story of the Asbury outpouring—especially what happened after the chapel service ended and most people left? [16:27]
What are some of the everyday examples of busyness that can keep people from staying present with God? [21:44]
What repeated truth appears in Matthew 28:20 and Hebrews 13:5 about God’s relationship to his people?

Interpretation questions

Jesus does not say Martha’s serving was wrong, but he still says Mary chose what is better. What does that reveal about the difference between serving Jesus and being present with Jesus? [28:16]
If revival begins when people stop rushing past God’s presence, why might slowing down be such an important spiritual step in ordinary daily life? [12:00]
Nineteen students simply stayed when others moved on to class and lunch. What does that suggest about how extraordinary moments with God can begin in very ordinary settings? [20:09]
Prayer is participation, not transaction. How does that change the way a person understands prayer when nothing dramatic seems to be happening? [34:58]

Application questions

Where does life feel most rushed right now—work, parenting, school, church, or even personal devotions? In that specific area, what might it look like to stop rushing past God? [40:05]
Martha was distracted by good and necessary things. What “good” things in life most easily pull attention away from simply being with Jesus? [28:32]
God often meets people in ordinary moments. What ordinary part of this coming week could become a place to linger a little longer with him—driving, walking, reading Scripture, sitting in silence, or praying before bed? [42:19]
Many people are good at fitting God into a schedule. What would it look like this week to let God interrupt the schedule instead? [31:21]
If prayer has become mostly asking God for things, how could prayer become more like being with God this week? What might help someone stay present instead of rushing through requests? [35:17]
When there is a quiet tug in the heart toward worship, prayer, confession, or stillness, what usually happens next? Is there a habit of moving on too quickly? [38:24]
Jesus is already present and staying simply recognizes that reality. What is one practical way to “stay” this week—not to make something happen, but because he is worth staying for? [42:56]

Sermon Clips

35s

#GodIsTheGift

“Not that asking for what we need is bad. Jesus tells us to ask for what we want, for our desires. But what if the greatest gift available to us isn't something that God gives to us? What if we actually understood that it's God himself? Just being able to experience him in whatever situation's going on, whatever the outcome is, what if the greatest gift that we can experience is that God is with us in those moments?”

46s

#ChooseToStay

“You know, I think many of us, we've just become so hurried, so distracted, so consumed with what's next that we just keep rushing past the god who's already here. Yeah? Mary stayed though at his feet. 19 students at Asbury stayed after chapel. And so maybe the invitation for us right here and now is much simpler than we think it is. And that's just to stay. To stay. Not because we need something, not because we want something, not because we're trying to make something happen. Stay because he's worth staying for. Stay because of the experience with him that you might just have when you do.”

48s

#PresenceOverChecklist

“Let me ask you a question. Have you ever approached prayer, church, or or or your time reading God's word? Have you ever approached these things not as something to simply check off of a checklist. Right? Not just a box to be checked, but as an opportunity to actually say, I just wanna be where he is. I sense and know that he is here. I can feel him tugging on my heart, and there is no place that I would rather be than right here in this moment. Like, I don't wanna manipulate him. I don't wanna require that he do something for me. I just wanna be where he is.”

58s

#SlowDownForRevival

“Not just on Sundays though, in every situation, in every moment that we find ourselves in. And so the bottom line for today, with that in mind, the bottom line for today is that revival begins when we stop rushing past the presence of God. Revival begins when we stop rushing, running, sprinting past, right, running so fast that we that we passed the very real presence of God in our lives. It starts it starts when we stop rushing past him even in the midst of all of our busyness and make time to sit with him. Right? Like, when we're running around and we're, like, bringing kids to this thing and that thing to practice in the school, right, when we're going from meeting to meeting, when we're running around like crazy people, can we stay connected and present with God almighty?”

46s

#PostureOfPresence

“Right? Not about getting something, but simply being with. You know, when Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, she was just choosing Jesus. It wasn't about what Jesus can do for her or even what she could do for Jesus. She just chose to be with him because nothing else would matter. Nothing else would do for her in that moment. And, guys, that same posture is where revival begins in us. When we stop rushing past the presence of God, when we stop running so hard in life that we actually miss the opportunity to stand with him, to sit with him, to kneel with him, to lay with him, right, just to simply be with him.”

40s

#StayInThisMoment

“Don't rush past that. If if you are sensing that in this moment right now, don't run on to the next thing. When I like, when I'm done and I'm praying and I'm finished praying and and you hit stop and close, you know, the YouTube app on your phone or wherever, don't just go on to the next thing. Don't rush past this. I wanna encourage you. Stay here. Stay in this. Stay in this moment. You don't you don't have to manufacture anything. You don't have to do anything at all, really. You just have to be still enough to be present with him right right here and right now.”

50s

#WorshipInTheEveryday

“Because staying with Jesus doesn't always mean sitting in a room for hours on end, days on end. It just means becoming present to the God who's already present with you. And so this week, as you leave and go about your day, go about your your busy life, as you drive to worse to work, ask, am I able to actually linger in worship? As I'm driving to work and I I put my favorite worship playlist on, am I able to linger in worship? Getting lost in the truth of the lyrics, like, truly listening. Right? Like, processing the words deep in your heart. Right? Raising them up to God all mighty. Can I linger in worship before getting out of the car and rushing in to work?”

66s

#LetGodInterrupt

“Gosh. When I saw it, did a lot of research. I I watched some videos just hearing the stories, and I was tearing up listening to these stories over and over again. And I'm like, when was the last time that we just lost ourselves in worship? When is the last time that we just got so carried away with with praying and listening and meditating that we just lost ourselves? And I I think the main point here is that we we've become very good in our culture at fitting God into our schedules. Right? Like, we look at our our planner. Right? And we're like, if I I think I could probably do my devotions today. If I don't sleep in too much, right, or if I can eat a quick breakfast, you know, maybe I can squeeze in some devotions or some prayer time. Right? We we become very good at fitting God into our schedules. But revival asks a different question. Revival asks whether we're willing to let God interrupt them. If we're willing to let God interrupt our schedules.”

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