Day 7: First Things First

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; - I Peter 1:13

We have so many things that need doing...or that we should do...or that we want to do. Most of these things are good things, but no matter how good they are, we run into one problem: There simply aren't enough hours in the day to get them ALL done.

Housework, homework, possibly childcare or a career (or both), church, serving your neighbor, quiet time...and that's not even bothering to work in the trivial things like leisure and maybe even stopping to eat!

Maybe we are looking at the wrong thing. Instead of looking at what are all the GOOD things *I* want to do, perhaps a better question is: What are the BEST things that GOD wants me to do?

If you ask any church-going woman what is important to her, probably on the list somewhere in her top three, the answer is something along the lines of "Live the life God wants me to live." We ALL want that - or we wouldn't be reading this devotional book! The problem is that we forget that in order to live "the life" God wants us to live, we first have to live "the day" God has given us today in a manner that is pleasing to Him.

As an example, Daniel didn't start off jumping into the lion's den to prove he was faithful. He started by honoring God in the morals he exhibited in the king's palace, the food he ate, and the time he spent in prayer each day. He wasn't setting out to be a hero. He was setting out to be God's servant...the hero part came later, after he was ALREADY faithful in the everyday mundane things.

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: - Luke 16:10

Today, we should be faithful in "that which is least". Put first things first...ask GOd to order your priorities, and you'll find that you have EXACTLY enough hours in the day to do what He has planned for you to do.

ACTIONS
Look at your "to do" list today. Pray over that list, and ask if there are some things that can be shed from it, things that warrant being put by the wayside for today...or if there are things at the bottom that need to be a priority.

POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
If you're comfortable doing so, share what it is that you scratched off your "to do" list today...not because you did it, but because it just wasn't important enough to be there!