Setting priorities

God shot a tiny pang of conviction through my heart as I reached for my phone this morning. Habits call us back even when we are determined that they will not. I planned to start a new habit of not touching my phone until my time in God's Word and prayer.

As I realized I had forgotten already, the familiar words of Matthew 6:33 came to mind. "Seek first the kingdom of God." Now, I know it is talking about seeking Him first in priority, not necessarily first in our daily timeline, but sometimes that is one and the same.

Mornings are important.

Our house is a little quieter first thing in the morning. I can actually think without distraction. I can complete a whole thought, process truth logically, reset convictions.

How do I use these first moments of my day?
When I pick up my phone first, my mind often takes off with to-do lists, anxieties, unresolved issues, and lingering decisions. It is very hard to rein that in and settle into God's best for my day after that news blast.

For me, this means recreating my morning habit. Instead of enjoying even just a few minutes looking at important texts that might have come in over night, or perusing email subject lines for time-sensitive communication, or even popping onto social media to see what people are up to, I am resetting the habit of grabbing God's Word, a cup of water (I know, nothing exciting, but that's my morning beverage), and my prayer list and finding my spot to just be.

To just be in Him.
With Him.
Hear from Him.
Soak in His Word.
Align my heart with His.
Focus my day on all that really matters.

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁸ And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

(Matthew 6:25-33 ESV - emphasis mine)

I cannot think of the last time that I had any serious concern about what I was going to eat, drink, or wear that day or the next. But, I do know how to worry. Worry about my kids, my cars, my schedule, my commitments, my responsibilities, my health, my lists, etc. I might not lose sleep over these often, but they still consume my thinking and lead to worry more than they should. More than they should if I was trusting God with my day and its outcome.

We live in a more complicated world than Jesus was speaking to. Our pressing needs might not be adequate food and water, but we can still relate.

Time moves faster today. We could read, "Each day has enough trouble of its own" as "Each click has enough trouble of its own." I need to keep focused on this click. What does God want my heart to absorb before I rush off at the fast pace of this world we live in?

One way I stay in the moment during my quiet time is to have a paper nearby that I keep a list of things that try to grab my attention. As soon as something pressing from later in the day jumps into my head, I write it down, and get back to my quiet time. Some days I have one thing on my list when I finish and some days I have a dozen, but keeping this list handy helps me not let these things overtake my mental energy when I want to give God my first and best. 

One more thought before God released me to the rest of my day. I realized that this section started with "Therefore." And, like any good bible scholar, I had to ask, what is it there for? Jump up a few verses, and it is pretty obvious. Verses 19-24 talk about heavenly treasure vs. earthly treasure. Don't store up treasures on earth. Treasure location and heart focus are always synonymous. We can't serve God and anything else at the same time. If my phone is grabbing my attention first thing in the morning, it is usurping God's priority in my life.

Starting fresh. Seeking Him first. Each day, in His word, humbled in prayer, amassing eternal wealth.

Everything else rests in His hands.