An area that God keeps top of mind for me is prioritizing. Life is all about prioritizing. When we fall to prioritize, we find ourselves in trouble. Also, a lack of prioritizing makes it difficult to make the right choices, when faced with conflict. Today, I encourage you to focus on putting first things first.
Putting First Things First is About Order
Prioritizing and putting first things first requires us to rank our to-do’s. Daily, we have many things to do, but we tend to get in trouble because we don’t do the most important things first. This is what we must do:
Do the most important things first.
This is why prioritizing is key, because without prioritizing we don’t even know what’s most important! As Christians, our #1 priority must always be God. Daily, when I rise, I aim to turn my attention to Him. Before getting out of bed, I shift my thoughts toward Him by simply thanking Him for the day. Then, I run to Him by praying, confessing, reading, and declaring His Word over my life.
Planning in Advance Also Helps With Putting First Things First
Another area that helps with prioritizing and putting first things first, is planning in advance. Similar to budgeting money, we need to think about the best thing to do with our time- before the time comes. So, the night before, we should be thinking about tomorrow. Ask yourself:
If I’m blessed with tomorrow, what would be the best things for me to do?
We don’t want to get stuck in auto-pilot with life, nor do we want to live reactively. Putting first things first will require us to be intentional and proactive.
Putting First Things First is About Diligence
It won’t be easy to put first things first in the beginning. If it were, we’d all be living prioritized, fruitful lives. The reason we’re not is because it requires diligence and dedication. Putting first things first will not be easy, but it is worth the fight. We must stick with it. Though it sometimes feels like we are going in circles when trying to move forward, keep at it. What’s the alternative?
So, even when you’re not making the progress that you want to make, keep at it. Ask God why. He’ll show you. I find that even when I may not be progressing the way I like, when I go to God, I gain understanding and clarity. Understanding precedes growth. We must grow in understanding the why behind our behavior before we can change it. True changes takes time. This is why diligence is key.
Lastly, putting first things first requires vision.
What do you want your life to look like? What hopes and dreams has God placed in your heart? This morning I read Habakkuk 2:2:
“And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.”
Putting first things first requires you to stay mindful of the goal. We are visual creatures so seeing the end-game is motivating. Sometimes it can even be humbling, because it seem so far off, but we mustn’t give up. We must express our hearts to God, and allow Him to encourage us. He will never leave us [Joshua 1:5], and nothing, absolutely nothing is hard for Him [Jeremiah 32:27].
As you go about your day, I pray that God grows you in putting first things first. As He does, may you begin progressing in your God-given abilities and dreams. He has a beautiful plan for us all, we just have to do our part in bringing it to fruition. Putting first things first is key.
Have a very blessed day today,
