Question description

Following biblical teachings and spiritual advice, I've learned that it is necessary to keep myself occupied with the Lord all the time to keep receiving from the Lord. However, I found it hard to keep up, especially when navigating daily routines filled with ups and downs. In addition, my field of work is crowded and demands lots of communication and collaboration with different people and teams and I feel like there is less time and space within the day to keep practicing "being occupied with the Lord". So I would like to ask,

1. Is there any mechanism for practicing "being occupied with the Lord in Spirit" at all times?
2. And how should I apply the mechanism to help me maintain my focus on Jesus throughout my day? 

Answer description

I propose our first step should be defining what we mean by "being occupied with the Lord'. So I will begin with this working definition, occupation with Christ is a mental attitude where a Christian views everything in life with the Lord Jesus in mind. This doesn't sound too difficult, but as we shall see many obstacles are working to prevent this status. Next, we should explore the means of reaching this Godly occupation.

The answer to this is plain and simple, spending as much time as possible in the Word. Bible truth applied in our lives equips us to move toward being Christ-occupied. Thus, studying under a good Bible teacher and using our own time to committedly read and study Scripture fills our minds with Godly thinking. The Bible is the "mind of Christ" and thus thinking like Him will move us toward being like Him.

This is a goal we will never completely attain in our lifetime because Jesus was perfect and sin prevents us from being fully like Him. But we can make it a goal to become more and more Christ-like. However, self, Satan, and busy lifestyles stand in the way of moving steadily forward. Selfish desires, temptations of the enemy, and being caught up in daily busyness, distract and divert us from making steady progress toward our goal of attaining greater likeness of our Lord. Thus we must be on the alert so that these diversions do not hinder the path the Lord would have us follow. (II Cor 10:5) instructs us to "capture every thought toward obedience to Christ."

So in our everyday lives, this commands us to be a judge over our thinking so that we can be occupied with Christ rather than all the other clutter that enters our thinking every single day. When this unsavory thinking does attack us, it is our job to seek the Spirit to protect us and banish such thoughts from our minds. This is a constant struggle that we will never always win. But we can fight and with practice, gain the ability to spend more and more time being filled with God-honoring thoughts. Then, as we draw close to the Lord in this manner, we can also ask for His help in being available for His purpose in our interactions with others.

This state of mind for me, is to always ask that His glory will reflect off of me to shine on others around me. You become a living, breathing mirror of our Lord. And we all know that all things are then possible for Him to bring about.

So I hope some of these ideas might be helpful for you. Your desire to be occupied with the Lord is a good one. Now comes the daily battle to walk as He would have you walk. And the Spirit is always with you to help as you call on Him. May God bless your quest.

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