Chapter 2: More on Priorities

Are you anything like me,… what you do first thing in the morning sets the tone for your entire day? That certainly rings true for me; if I miss time in prayer, I begin to feel frustrated, depressed, and or short-tempered. On the other hand if I make time for God, I normally feel as Moses felt when he uttered Psalm 90:14: I feel satisfied with God's mercy and loving-kindness.

In taking stock of my life this week, and answering the end of the chapter questions in chapter 2, once again my focus turned to praying over my priorities, and seeking God's presence and guidance regarding my priorities. I looked at what I valued, where my focus has been, what my goals were, who I spent most of my time with, and what I chose to do no matter how busy, tired or broke I was. I thought about relationships that I had forsaken all others for in the past, and relationships I currently feel the need to focus my time and energy on developing.

In re-evaluating my priorities in light of God's perspective, I was prompted to move "Health and Exercise" which was previously a "3" under Present to a "5" under God-Given. There were other adjustments that I was prompted to make, and that I plan to make, but the need to focus on my health stood out for me as I listened to God speak to me this week via a friend, through a busy life that often leaves me weary and worn out, and through the Word of God which says "[I was] bought at a price [Jesus death on the cross]; therefore [I should] glorify God in [my] body and in [my] spirit, which are God’s" (1 Corinthians 6:20).

Next Week's Goal: Read Chapter 3 or Step 3, and start chapter questions.

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Chapter 2: Establishing Proper Priorities

You are at a fork-in-the-road, in one direction is the road leading to truth, light, salvation, and unknown blessings; in the other direction is the road leading to sin, idolatry, and eventually spiritual death. Which road would you choose? I think the choice is rather obvious here, but in real life, it is not so obvious when our sense of direction gets muddled with fear, desire, people, and our priorities.

This week I was forced to re-evaluate my priorities. Chapter two begins with the biblical story of Orpah, in the book of Ruth, and the choice she made to return to Moab instead of continuing on to Bethlehem with Ruth and Naomi. A section in Balancing Blessings and Obtaining Order reads:

“Wedge between two decisions, I have no doubt that the choice she made to return home was a very difficult decision to make. With pressure from Naomi to go back, and the fear of the unknown in her heart, she did what most of us would do: return to the comfort of home, even though our spirit is restless with the decision.”

Whether we realize it or not her decision was based on what was important to her (her priorities); as much as she loved her mother-in-law and her sister-in-law, getting married again was important to her, having children was important to her, and I imagine being close to family and friends was also important to her.  All these things she desired were good and they were probably things that God desired for her, but when a person fails to insert God in the equation, things don’t turn out quite as well (or should I say, “quite as miraculously”).

Establishing godly priorities (or a clear direction for our life begins with putting God first, but it also requires us to examine our current priories to gain some measure of insight as to what is really important to us. Using the books list of common priorities on page sixty one of chapter two, helped me quickly discern where the majority of my time was being spent, what my values were, and whether they aligned with God’s will for me.

Ruth put God, love, dedication, service, and commitment high on her priority list, and she still got all the things in Bethlehem that Orpah returned to Moab for. The section concluded the commentary by saying:

“Daily you will venture to the fork-in-the-road where you will have to make those crucial choices that will either take you closer to Bethlehem (to Jesus Christ) or closer to Moab (away from Jesus Christ). The vehicle to getting to either of these places, and the focus of this chapter, is your priorities.”

For many months now I have deviated from being a Martha, to being a Mary to being a Martha again. Re-evaluating my priorities this week help me once again determine where the majority of my time was being spent—especially at work. I may spend nine hours at work, but was I meeting my goals and objectives or was I allowing interruptions to drive me off course. The most important question for me this week which concluded the chapter was: “Am [I] making all that [I] do count for the Lord?”

Next Week's Goal: Review Chapter 2 or Step 2, and finish chapter questions.

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More on Priorities

Are you anything like me,…what you do first thing in the morning sets the tone for your entire day? That certainly rings true for me; if I miss time in prayer, I begin to feel frustrated, and short-tempered. On the other hand if I make time for God, I normally feel as Moses felt when he uttered Psalm 90:14: I feel satisfied with God's mercy and loving-kindness.

In taking stock of my life this week, once again my focus turned to praying over my priorities, and seeking God's presence and guidance in my life. This step is an important step not only for me, but for any woman who like me has become accustom to putting other's first.

My wake-up call this week came from a high school friend who called to let me know that she would be having surgery the following day. Though she explained to me that the surgery was not life threatening--opting out would be life threatening. Years of putting others first had stressed her body to the point that it began to retaliate. Though I truly admire her and many of my other friends for the dedication and the commitment they have shown toward their family, I cannot help but wonder whether all their busyness over the years was needful or fruitful. In other words, was the source of their productivity God? Without godly priorities it's easy to become distracted by things that may be good, but we also become oblivious to those things that are essential or important. That has been true for me over the years, and for my dear friend who at this moment is preparing herself mentally and emotionally for the unexpected. And I'm sure this resonates with every woman whose life is not driven by prayer.

In re-evaluating my priorities in light of God's perspective, I was prompted to move "Health and Exercise" which was previously a "3" under Present to a "5" under God-Given. There were other adjustments that I was prompted to make, and that I plan to make, but the need to focus on my health stood out for me as I listened to God speak to me via a friend with a similar medical issue, through a busy life that often leaves me weary and worn out, and through the Word of God which says "[I was] bought at a price [Jesus death on the cross]; therefore [I should] glorify God in [my] body and in [my] spirit, which are God’s" (1 Corinthians 6:20).

Next Week's Goal: Read Chapter 3 or Step 3, and start chapter questions.

Read more...