“Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be
fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet and all your ways
will be established.” (Proverbs 4:25–26, NASB95)
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all
these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33, NASB95)
Many years ago I used a term when teaching time management
to commissioned sales people whose days were flexible and varied. The term was “productive
procrastination,” and it was used to refer to those little often unnecessary
things that we do in order to avoid the other more necessary things. I am a
time management and to-do list kind of kind of person. When I wore a watch it
was one that had an analog (dial with hands) face so that I could look at its pie-like
dial and slice my day up into its various pieces.
On one side of doing this there was a tendency toward
rigidity, but on the other side there was an awareness of the time I had
available and the things I had scheduled to do. This provided me with an
ability to get through my day more productively, paying attention to the big
things and not letting the little ones swallow up my time. It also provided
another benefit which I really came to appreciate, which was the ability to
adjust my day when something else came along that needed my attention. With
this picture in my mind (and my Daytimer or whatever scheduler I was using at the
time) I was quickly able to reassess what truly was most important and shed
that which could be pushed away to a later, more convenient time. This included
not letting the business of my schedule during those seasons to hinder what a
friend of my told me I needed more of which was spontaneity. Yes, I even put
that into my scheduler—planned spontaneity and I learned to practice it to
varying degrees and at various times better than others.
Participating in productive procrastination, on the other
hand, generally came about because there was no picture of the bigger things
and how everything fit into the day, or because there was an unwillingness to
focus on those bigger things and a subtle sense of feeling good by at least
tackling the smaller less significant ones. This does not mean that one is
exclusively good and the other is exclusively bad, but it does point to that
tendency in most of us to wander unless we focus our attention.
Being extremely one way or the other around people who tend
to be the opposite can generate friction at times. It can create friction
between husbands and wives, but it can also create friction in our walk with God.
Being to the point and task oriented can lead to us to a what we have to get
done focus in such a way that we even approach God as another thing to get
accomplished and checked off of our list. Being unscheduled and meandering can
also lead to wandering in our time with Him and even not spending time with Him
because it is not gotten around to because we did not make Him a priority in
our lives.
I’ve lived most of my life in the first area spoken about,
but I’ve also lived seasons in the later. In both of them I’ve been challenged
to combine both diligence and fluidity in seeking Him, reading His Word and
hiding it in my heart, meditating on Him and His Word throughout the day, and
being sensitive to the leading of His Spirit. I am continuing to learn how to
practice living in His presence in the midst of whatever might be going on in
my life, of learning to look to Him and depend on Him when I am busy and
learning to come before Him and trust Him when I am not. I’ve learned and
continue to learn anew that what I thought was mine is really His, and it is
imperative that I seek His leading in all things.
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your
life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to
what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than
clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor
gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth
much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to
his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the
field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even
Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. “But if God so
clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown
into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not
worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will
we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your
heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His
kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do
not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25–34, NASB95)
“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his
presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of
praise! For the Lord is a great
God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and
his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us
kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his
hand. Today, if you hear his voice,” (Psalm 95:1–7, ESV)
Today in “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young (12/19)
Do not be weighed down by the clutter in your life: lots of
little chores to do sometime, in no particular order. If you focus too much on
these petty tasks, trying to get them all out of the way, you will discover
that they are endless. They can eat up as much time as you devote to them.
Instead of trying to do all your chores at once, choose the
ones that need to be done today. Let the rest slip into the background of your
mind, so I can be in the forefront of your awareness. Remember that your
ultimate goal is living close to Me, being responsive to My initiatives. I can
communicate with you most readily when your mind is uncluttered and turned
toward me. Seek My face continually throughout this day. Let My Presence bring
order to your thoughts, infusing Peace into your entire being.
“Commit your works to the Lord
and your plans will be established.” (Proverbs 16:3, NASB95)
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all
these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33, NASB95)
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