Priority Class

Day 3: First Things First

Have you ever been at an airport, bus or train station departure section with many other people also waiting to board the same plane, bus or train? It can be quite an experience when the call to start boarding is finally made and everyone scrambles to get in line to be first to board. If you are like me, I want to be first because I would like to get situated with my hand luggage and find adequate space in the overhead compartments without competing with everyone else. It's not a great experience trying to find a space to put your laptop bag or backpack when everyone else has already taken up the space. I found that nowadays a number of transport options will offer a priority class ticket. The priority ticket does not necessarily mean that you seat in a different section but you get preferential treatment when boarding or getting your luggage. Having a priority means that you get service first and this classification can also make it more orderly when dealing with hordes of people trying to board a train.

I have found that doing life and making everyday decisions can be a bit daunting and challenging as we are faced with myriads of options and choices of what we can do such that you can find yourself feeling crowded in your thoughts and unsure which decisions or tasks to prioritise. Particularly at the beginning of the year when we maybe have a long list of things we would like to accomplish and it feels like is so much needs to get done and we have to choose wisely which choices to make in view of the long Todo list. If only life came with a priority app that helps you know what to prioritise at any given time.

It certainly would make it easier to know make sure we spend our energy and dedications on the right issues, relationships and opportunities in order for us to see traction and success in our endeavours right?

God must have known that we would have a hard time knowing what to pursue and prioritise so he sends Jesus to teach us the Priority Class Principle that sorts out all confusion and brings order and sanity to the madness of what we need to spend our time and energy on at whatever point of our lives. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus tells us the Big secret, "Seek First the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you"

As I read this golden section of Mathew 6, from verse 25 Jesus addresses our needs and our wants, He insightfully paints the picture in my mind of how the many things I need and want in life can be like many passengers in the departure lounge of our hearts waiting to be addressed. This can can actually cause anxiety and worry as you try and figure out which need to address first.

Jesus then calmly tells us to not fall into the trap of listening to the demands of our wants and needs through worry. Instead of worrying about our many life needs he introduces a ticketing system called God First and the rest will follow. He directs us to the fact that when we give God a priority ticket to be the first one we onboard into our lives every year, every month and everyday, we create an order within our hearts that stops the chaos of worry and anxiety. Putting God in the priority class gives God room to create the divine order for everything else to follow because after all he is the creator of the universe and so everything follows after him.

Reflect on the Priority class Scripture below: Ask Jesus to highlight the worry that you are carrying as you start the year and allow him to teach you to Park that worry in his hands and make God first.

Matthew 6:25-34

' “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life ? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.'

Prayer Time:

Ask God in Prayer to show you how you can begin to prioritise him instead of worrying about your needs and wants on a daily basis. God is able to carry your burdens for you. Prayer is the tool we can use to place those burdens in Gods capable hands. Worship allows us to pick up a new burden that is much lighter, the burden of making Jesus the centre of our lives. He then empowers us as we Pray and Worship to navigate the issues of life.

Prayer and fasting Tip:

Set a reminder at various intervals of the day to remind you to Pray. Remember what sets fasting apart from fasting is the intentional pursuit of God through Prayer, worship and reading the word of God.