Time is all we can think about when we are busy.We want to go slow; however, we have a packed schedule. So. A list-maker gets busy, writing a never-ending-to-do-list. To get things done, we begin in a rush, running before the light has barely broken through the darkness, to get something . . . anything . . . crossed off the list.
One of the most rewarding tasks for us list-makers is to check-off a task. Completed. Done. Finished. There is a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. The thing is . . . checking off an item on the do-to-list will not have long-lasting value, no matter how great, if it is not God-driven.
How do we shift the way we use our time, which marks what we do with our life, so that the time we have used doesn't disappear but is invested because it is God-driven?I love how Mark, who wrote the book of Mark, described a busy day in the life of Jesus in chapter one. It was a check-off list of sorts of a God-driven day:
1. Prepared and preached on the Sabbath in the Synagogue
2. Healed a demon-possessed man who disrupted the service (Note: It is one thing to deal with a difficult individual, but another to heal a demon possessed individual).
3. Went to Andrew and Simon's home and healed Simon's mother-in-law.
4. Ate dinner prepared by Simon Peter's mother-in-law.
5. Opened the door after dinner to see a long line of sick and demon possessed people . . . healed the sick and removed demons . . . giving his time and energy into the night hours.
6. Woke up early, while it was still dark, went to a solitary place and prayed.
Mark 1:35 is key to shifting the way we live in the time we have: Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed (Mark 1: 35, TNIV).After the long day ended and a new day began, Jesus took time with Father, God. Remember Jesus was fully human, and like us, needed to be directed by the Father. It makes sense that we, too, need to seek God first to know what to do and where to go. Think of the difference that checking off an item of a God-driven-to-do-list makes. It comes down to a choice to being intentional with what we do with our time . . . which marks what we do with our life . . . and whether or not we will use up our time or invest it.
Live the day with a God-driven mindset. Pray first. Find a solitary place to pray. Listen to God in the silence. Surrender your to-do-list to God. Do what God says to do. Go where God says to go. Check-off the tasks on your to-do-list with the realization that it is the power of God that allows you to complete the task, great and small.Learning to Kickstart the day seeking God first . . . before doing anything with my time . . . (check),
Kerrie
(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)