The Lord has been speaking to me about how priorities (the plural) almost goes against the very definition of priority: something given the time, attention, importance above all other competing alternatives. Once we have more than one priority, we have to decide still between alternatives which can carry confusion. I painted this picture a couple years ago for a friend. Can anyone relate to the octopus trying to keep all the important balls in the air?
Sometimes when I think about how my priorities “should” look, I start to create a list and a pie graph in my mind: Ok, the Lord first, maybe 40 percent so it is the biggest piece, then is supposed to be my spouse, my family, followed by maybe my job… or should it be serving and ministry? Then realistically I think how a job typically takes at least around 40 hours a week maybe not including commute time, so practically probably has the biggest slice of the pie. Then I am often left feeling tired and shame back to just trying the keep the balls in the air figuring I am not prioritizing the right way.
The Lord says seek first the Kingdom of God and all else will be added to you (Matt 6:33) and Worship the Lord your God, and Him only you serve (Matt 4:10). From that priority of worshiping our Creator and Father, we will be called upon to faithfully serve and love our family, our neighbor, the work of our hands each day. But it is always a flow from our first and only priority, of highest importance, our relationship and submission to our Lord. Our pie shouldn’t be chunked out, but the whole thing says “son/daughter of the King of kings”. He gives me wisdom on practical things on how to cultivate and nurture each precious gift in my day. The Lord then gave me the second picture of the things in my life being fruit, sweet relationships and a tree to care for from overflow of the source. This still means I may have to learn to pause and say no at times, or to adjust things for more space for others. It also means though those choices come from a vibrant lifestyle of worship to the Creator and our Father. May this free you today to fully seek His face and His heart for you and for each thing you put your hand to faithfully. When we seek Him, we will find Him (Jer 29:13)!
