"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" Matthew 6:33
What is the most important thing in your life currently? What takes up the majority of your time each day?
Lots of people will give you many answers to the above questions. It could be family. It could be their career. It could also be their personal health. For others it could be stability, whether that be financially, emotionally, or physically. And for others, it would be their relationship with God.
I struggle with that. Making God the center of my day every day. Life gets in the way a lot of times. There always seems to be something which changes my focus. It could be work and the month-end close. Drama with family and friends. It might be an unexpected expense which impacts the checkbook. It is at those times where we can push God to the back of our minds as we take on whatever challenge faces us. That's when stress and worry take hold, and your mind and body go into survival mode. You begin to scramble and scrape to keep your head above water. It always seems the harder you try, the farther you fall.
Whatever you place in the center of your life will always get the majority of your focus. Everything else in your life will flow from what you place at the center. That decision will affect other aspects of your life, or you will find other areas in your life getting neglected. Career being at the center of your life could cause relationships in your life to suffer. Or vice versa.
I've noticed that when I place God as the center of my day and life, most other things in my life benefit. It doesn't mean life gets simpler or easier, sometimes it could get harder. Listening to God, you hear what he thinks about relationships, career, etc.. and leads the way. When I place something else in the center of my life and things falter, I try to make that center hold. I work harder at whatever is my center - my job, accomplishments, relationships to help stabilize my life. Sometimes it's like building a house on quicksand, it eventually sinks and crashes down.
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11: 29-30.
There is still going to be work to do. But Jesus says to take his yoke and we will find rest for our souls. Isn't that what happens when Jesus is at the center? We can have long, tiring, stress-filled days that leave us physically spent. But, we are not hurting emotionally or spiritually. Because we know where the center of our lives is at. Our foundation that our lives rests upon. The more I focus on Him, the better my days seem to be. There are still tight deadlines and projects that pop up at the last moment with no time - yet in my soul I still find rest. The rest of me, sometimes, can still feel drained. But, there is something liberating for our souls that everything does not rely on us.
That's what our focus, our center of attention, needs to be. Focused on following the will of God.
There is stability when God is the center of your universe. Christ says as much when he relates the story of the man who built his house on sand. When the stresses of the world rail against our home, it will sink and be destroyed without the right foundation. There is a definite security as well. That even when things in the world go awry, you still have the safety and security of God.
Paul speaks in Philippians 3 that everything he considered gains are now losses for the sake of Christ. That knowing and be focused on Christ was worth more to him than everything else in his life combined. In fact, Paul calls them garbage in comparison to a relationship with Christ. When compared to a relationship with Christ, every other thing pales in comparison mightily.
That's how our lives go. There are many things competing for our time and attention. Those things are fleeting, they can fade and wither away. Then, what is left in life - just the memories of what was. Focus on what is eternal and everlasting as your focus. Everything else in life flows outward from that center in our lives.
What is the most important thing in your life currently? What takes up the majority of your time each day?
Lots of people will give you many answers to the above questions. It could be family. It could be their career. It could also be their personal health. For others it could be stability, whether that be financially, emotionally, or physically. And for others, it would be their relationship with God.
I struggle with that. Making God the center of my day every day. Life gets in the way a lot of times. There always seems to be something which changes my focus. It could be work and the month-end close. Drama with family and friends. It might be an unexpected expense which impacts the checkbook. It is at those times where we can push God to the back of our minds as we take on whatever challenge faces us. That's when stress and worry take hold, and your mind and body go into survival mode. You begin to scramble and scrape to keep your head above water. It always seems the harder you try, the farther you fall.
Whatever you place in the center of your life will always get the majority of your focus. Everything else in your life will flow from what you place at the center. That decision will affect other aspects of your life, or you will find other areas in your life getting neglected. Career being at the center of your life could cause relationships in your life to suffer. Or vice versa.
I've noticed that when I place God as the center of my day and life, most other things in my life benefit. It doesn't mean life gets simpler or easier, sometimes it could get harder. Listening to God, you hear what he thinks about relationships, career, etc.. and leads the way. When I place something else in the center of my life and things falter, I try to make that center hold. I work harder at whatever is my center - my job, accomplishments, relationships to help stabilize my life. Sometimes it's like building a house on quicksand, it eventually sinks and crashes down.
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11: 29-30.
There is still going to be work to do. But Jesus says to take his yoke and we will find rest for our souls. Isn't that what happens when Jesus is at the center? We can have long, tiring, stress-filled days that leave us physically spent. But, we are not hurting emotionally or spiritually. Because we know where the center of our lives is at. Our foundation that our lives rests upon. The more I focus on Him, the better my days seem to be. There are still tight deadlines and projects that pop up at the last moment with no time - yet in my soul I still find rest. The rest of me, sometimes, can still feel drained. But, there is something liberating for our souls that everything does not rely on us.
That's what our focus, our center of attention, needs to be. Focused on following the will of God.
There is stability when God is the center of your universe. Christ says as much when he relates the story of the man who built his house on sand. When the stresses of the world rail against our home, it will sink and be destroyed without the right foundation. There is a definite security as well. That even when things in the world go awry, you still have the safety and security of God.
Paul speaks in Philippians 3 that everything he considered gains are now losses for the sake of Christ. That knowing and be focused on Christ was worth more to him than everything else in his life combined. In fact, Paul calls them garbage in comparison to a relationship with Christ. When compared to a relationship with Christ, every other thing pales in comparison mightily.
That's how our lives go. There are many things competing for our time and attention. Those things are fleeting, they can fade and wither away. Then, what is left in life - just the memories of what was. Focus on what is eternal and everlasting as your focus. Everything else in life flows outward from that center in our lives.
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