Urgent Versus Important
What is the difference between urgent things and important things to you?
Verse of the Day
“You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine.”
Today’s Devotional
There are days that I struggle with the “joy of the Lord.” I know that I’m saved and loved by God, but some days I struggle to embrace that. Some days, I focus on the troubles of this temporary world instead of the truth of God’s love, provision, protection and plan.
Imagine that you won the lottery. You picked all the correct numbers, and you have in your possession the winning ticket. You haven’t gone to claim your winnings yet, but you will do so after some logistics are worked out. In the meantime, before you go to collect your winnings, some stressful things occur. Your car breaks down, your dog gets sick, you find out that your job may be eliminated. At this point, you re-prioritize what needs to be done because those things are urgent. You go to the mechanic to get your car fixed. It’s going to be much more expensive than you had thought it would be. So worry sets in. Then you take your dog to the vet, and the medical issues for your dog are much bigger than you thought. So now you worry about that too. And the uncertainty of your job situation is consuming your mind. Do you need to go find a new job right now?
At this point, someone close to you is saying, “Um, why don’t you just go collect your winnings? If you do that, the car repairs won’t feel like such a big deal. Neither will the job situation be so stressful. And the dog…well, if it’s fixable then you’ll have the money. If not, that will be hard, but you will survive. And I’ll be with you during the whole thing.” Isn’t this what God is saying to us? You have everything you need to deal with your problems….you have Me.
There is a difference in this life between the urgent and the important. The urgent tends to get all of our attention because, well, it’s urgent. But the important stuff is what matters. The important things, if attended to properly, make the urgent stuff more manageable.
So today I am proposing to you that the joy of the Lord is what’s important. It’s better than any monetary possession. It’s better than any earthly abundance we can have or enjoy. And if I can focus on that joy – the knowledge of how much God loves me, seeks me, provides for me and guides me – then the urgent stuff in my life will be handled AFTER I have focused my day on God and WITH his love and guidance.
The joy that comes from our relationship with God is better than anything this world has to offer. And the nearness of God will help us to handle anything and everything that happens to us. In terms of how to handle this life, we have won the lottery.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Do you struggle with putting urgent things before important things?
Do you believe that your time with God is the most important thing in your life?
What are some of your urgent things that you need God’s help with?
Today, ask God for his joy in your life that comes from trusting him.