Our group was small in number tonight: only five. But we had a great discussion, covering a number of related areas.

One member shared how she worked herself into a frenzy trying to save money. She needed to buy a car. Finally she realized God wanted her to turn to Him — and that meant she was to stop working slavishly, and trust God to provide. She did, and before long she was able to buy a car. Moreover, it was a car she ordinarily wouldn’t have considered because of its price. The question was then raised, What does that story imply about how we ought to approach problems? Should be try to solve a problem first on our own, and if that doesn’t work, turn to God? Or should be just ask God from the start to work out the details, and not concern ourselves with it further?

We all know of those who come to church or to prayer gatherings, and constantly present their wants and needs. Yet God never seems to grant their requests. And, knowing their situation, we may think, “Well, of course. They are so lazy and negligent, they continually bring this trouble on themselves. Why should God do anything for them?” In other words, we think if they’d just shape up and get their act together, many of their problems would go away. With a little muscle and determination they could answer their own prayers. This says something about us. We want to trust God and work with Him, yet we also have this sense that we need to do our part. Is that wrong?

As one of our group said, we are conflicted. We blame ourselves for not having more faith, for not turning to God sooner when we face problems, for turning to works instead of resting in faith. But we also blame ourselves for offloading our responsibility on God, for not doing what we can, for presuming on God’s grace. How can we resolve this inner conflict in what we expect and how we behave?

On further reflection, to seems clear that the Bible wants us to be hard-working and diligent. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” Ecclesiastes 9:10. Be “not slothful in business; [but be] fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11. The book of Proverbs is full of encouragement to work hard and resist idleness.And there are many other verses throughout the Bible supporting the same thought. The Bible seems to plainly say we ought to work diligently and do our best.

Yet there seems to be a threshold when we are beyond diligent, when we become overburdened by cares or start to slip into self-sufficiency. Jesus detected this on one occasion in Martha (Luke 10:38-42). In the parable of the sower, He represented this condition as the seed snuffed out by weeds (Matthew 13:22). There is a danger that we can become so busy helping ourselves, or even “doing God’s work,” that we no longer have time for God. We may even start to imagine that our life is all about us, and forget to seek first God’s kingdom. In these times, God calls us away from the cares of life to focus on what is more important: our relationship with Him.

It is even possible that God will bring trials and setbacks into our life to demonstrate the futility of our self-centeredness. These occasions help us see that what we need is not what we think we need (money, time, family, health, or whatever it is that distracts us), but instead what we need most is Him.

All of this is a lesson I’m still learning. But hopefully now I will be more mindful of what matters most: God’s place in my time and priorities.