Philippians 1:10 – “For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.” NLT
Colossians 3:2 – “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.” NLT
Oh, how many times I wake up stressed about my day. How many times do I stress about my to-do list? How many times do I stress over a conversation I am to have with someone? But how insignificant is all of this. When I look back over the things I used to stress about, I am able to see just how insignificant they are in the scheme of my entire life. But if I really evaluated the things I stress about even today, I would see just how much more insignificant they are in the grand scheme of eternity.
Busyness—one of the biggest, overlooked pitfalls of our lives. Why is it almost viewed as impressive to be seen as busy? When, in reality, all busyness does is eliminate time to spend with the Lord. If I won’t even give Him a piece of my day, how can I accomplish His will for my life? And certainly, how can I focus on what really matters? One of the most convicting messages I’ve heard recently is in the lyrics of a song.
In the song “Things That Matter” by Josiah Queen, he sings: “I saw an accident this morning on the interstate. And the first thing on my mind was ‘running late.’ I didn’t stop and pray that they were safe; I never thought about it after. When did I start missing the things that matter?”
Maybe one of the reasons it was so convicting is because I can’t remember a time I’ve passed an accident or traffic and instantly prayed for those involved. Instead, I allow frustration to build because I have been inconvenienced and my busyness has been stalled.
But what if we took the time to stop? Jesus was on mission His entire life, yet no one was an inconvenience to Him. If an opportunity arose, He took it. But how many times do opportunities arise and get passed over because that wasn’t on our to-do list for the day? What if we switched our minds to prioritize the things that matter? Rather than doing what we’re planning to do, we do what matters. When frustration builds, try to think of how big of a deal it is in terms of eternity, and I can almost bet it won’t be as big as it was originally made to be.
Guest Contributor: Olivia Janes
