Thursday, February 27th

If you ask the average Christian, who or what is the most important priority in their lives, more than likely they will point to a relationship and not to something. More than likely they will answer that God and family are the most important priories in their lives. Yet, if you look at their daily agenda it would probably tell a different story. You would find that they have busy agendas that don’t necessarily reflect their priorities.

A busy agenda tends to be a trap because it alters our priorities without us perceiving it. Let’s look at your relationship with God. You too would probably say that God is the number one priority in your life, but does your agenda reflect that? How much intimate time do you really spend with God? I’m not talking about your time with God in the car or at work. That’s important. You should spend the whole day with God, but I’m talking about intimate time with God. Imagine a married couple who did not have time for intimacy; quiet non-rushed, non-interrupted time together. What do you think will happen to that marriage? The same is true of our relationship with God.

When Jesus dwelt on this earth, he taught us that the way to deal with the busyness trap was to reorganize the priorities in our agendas. Now, remember that Jesus had more things to to do and more responsibilities than anyone of us. His task and responsibility was to save the world! Yet, He never let the busyness of his task become the driving force in his life. On the contrary, He always prioritized intimacy with his Father, and yet he still accomplished all of his duties.

The way we deal with the busyness trap is to reprioritize our values to reflect what is most important to us. The way we deal with the busyness trap is by seeking God first in terms of both time and importance. In today’s Bible reading Jesus tells us that if we seek God first, he will take care of all those things that fill up our agendas. If we seek God first, he will take care of all the things that we are so worried about. And in doing so we will have freed up time to take care of what is most important to us: Our relationship with him.

Bible reading
Matthew 6:24-33

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Heavenly Father, You more than anyone else understand how hectic the world we live in can be, but you taught us that if we seek you first, you will take care of those things that fill up our agendas. And most importantly, we will reap the fruit of an intimate relationship with you. Help us to reprioritize our agendas.