4:82 – How Do You Prioritize

#fiathbites #faithjourney prioritize

Setting

Yesterday, while in a meeting to plan an event, we discussed several more activities and projects that fall into my lap. I tried not to laugh but I was wondering how I could possibly get all of that done. What was core to my job? What was extra? And how do I figure out how to prioritize where to start? To add insult to injury, that’s just work stuff. What about home, work, girl scouts, church, faith, and the list goes on and on. When we prioritize, how do we determine what is prioritized and why? So many questions and not many answers.

Not only do I currently have no answers, but there is also stress in knowing there is so much to do and not enough time to do it in. Then when something falls into the cracks, I feel down about it. How can our faith help us prioritize what is important? What does that look like?

Today’s Question: What do you prioritize and why?

Scripture

• Matthew 6:33 – But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
• Proverbs 24:27 – Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.
• Proverbs 4:5-6 – Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you.

Reflection

As I reflect on these passages, I realize how often I fail. For me, I find something that interests me then I dive into it fully. When I do that i have some sort of happiness, but I haven’t done things in order. As we see in Proverbs, get your work outsides prepared, get your field word ready, then build your house. Often, we try to take care of ourselves first before looking outside. God will take care of us. We need to make sure our other work is ready to go. That being said, we always need to to turn to prayer for guidance on how we balance all of these things. Even if we dive into our faith and church life, we can get overwhelmed quickly. We need to understand the art of saying no and stick to it. Saying no at work is hard, saying no in a faith or community setting can be even harder. All of this comes down to looking in our hearts and asking God what he wants us to do and when.

There is no shortage of work to be done. We could work 24 hours a day till we die and never accomplish everything that has to be done. This is where faith and God comes in. We should do the work he wants us to do when he wants us to do it.

As we close, remember that we need to ask God to give us opportunities and take opportunities away. We can’t be all things to all people at all times. God will help us prioritize.

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for making us doers of your word. We pray today that you will give us balance and help us prioritize that which is special and pleasing to you. Help us to know when and how to do what you want us to do. If something is no longer relevant to you, help us get rid of it or stop doing it. We pray for your guidance and your blessing on all we do. In your name, Amen.