âBut seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.â Matthew 6:33 ESV
I heard the âbeep, beep, beeeeeeep!â And everything in me breathed a blessed sigh of relief. Coffee wasnât on itâs way. It had arrived. Unfortunately, like many mornings, everything seemed to jump in its path. One kid got up late needing help with packing her lunch. The dog was doing the pee-pee dance because sheâd been inside all night and needed to both chase a squirrel and relieve herself. My boys like to use the am before school to pick at each otherâŠ..or practice parkour. And so between packing, peeing and parkour, it was quite the morning. I just wanted a cup of coffee. My husband materialized (or stumbled out of the bedroom) and asked me where he could find some mystery item that was needed. I took a detour to find it because, everyone knows Mom can find it in a fraction of the time it will take anyone else, and sure enough, said mystery item was located. And oh yes, coffee. Making a beeline for the kitchen cabinets to decide on which mug to use for the day, and I realized that the dishes were clean, but not the clothes, so I decided to throw in a load before workâŠ..which also reminded me I needed to get a workout in before work began. Laundry loaded, kids readied, husbandâs mystery item found…..and then I thought maybe I should order a refill on my vitamins because Iâm just feeling a bit tired today. As these musings wander across my brain, my eyes wander to my favorite mug sitting on the counter waiting to hold my favorite drink âŠ..if only I could get to it. It just seems like the world was conspiring against me to get what I needed before starting my day. And then the thought occurred to me …. am I the one getting in my way? I mean mystery items and laundry can sort themselves out. Once the coffee is brewed it takes me all of 45 seconds to pour a cup, put in a little cream and go from there. But the truth is, I often say yes to everything despite the pull of coffee and then I donât have the needed strength to start the day.Â
We aren’t just talking about coffee, are we?
You can put any priority here (in place of coffee) and find yourself getting side hustled or side tracked out of the way that you intend to go. And the honest-to-God truth is, you donât have to. We let distractions in, instead of setting our intention and that often pulls us somewhere else. Yes, life happens but often times, we’re guilty of derailing ourselves.Â
I think the truth is, we have to set the intention first, (the intention being born out of time with Jesus and prayer) then take the needed and necessary steps to executing that priority. We canât constantly be shooting at a moving target. Itâs not all going to magically work out. Yes, life happens. But, so can intention.
We have to prioritize what matters most.
In reality, the coffee was ready. But (also reality) I let everything take priority and precedence over what was needed. The truth is, everyone else could wait the the 45 seconds it took me to pour a cup of coffee. The truth is, I could have made time. The truth is, I donât need to put everyone else before myselfâŠ.refusing to take care of myself or minimizing my needs. Some things donât have to be done. Some things can be done by other people. And somethings can be let go of. But when we donât make time for what matters most, that in and of itself sends a message, and sets a priority.Â
Now, let’s take the analogy a step further, because we arenât just talking about self care here and coffee here, are we friends? Weâre talking about time with the Father, Son and Spirit. Weâre talking about putting them first, and weâre talking about putting our focus on the right Kingdom. If Jesus is our coffee (because He-brews, right? Sorry, not sorry!) There is a very real temptation to put everything else first because he is kind and gracious. But the truth is, we are called to seek first the Kingdom. We are called to put Him first. And the truth is, anything and everything else will get thrown in our path attempting (or maybe we’re allowing) those things to pull us off course.Â
You know it and I know it, no matter how well meaning, or how well intentioned we are, life can pull us off course. Family. Friends. Stuff to do. Work. All. The. Things.Â
I think that God knew all of this, when he put his Word onto paper and then into flesh. The call of Jesus from Matthew 6:33 rings true even if the world has changed. We are called, to seek FIRST the Kingdom. More than the pull of family, friends, stuff to do, work, or all. the. things. We are called to seek first the Kingdom. The busyness of life doesnât nullify the call, but fulfills the beckoning to seek it first. Our relationship with God matters. Because God matters. And that relationship doesnât just deserve priority, it deserves precedence.Â
Before we end things today and find ourselves getting a little too judgmental-judy, please remember, there’s grace for us. All of us. There is grace when life throws us curveballs, challenges and grace for us to learn how to prioritize. (But that doesn’t excuse us from constantly minimizing time with Jesus.) The key is to ask and wrestle out what you are being called to do, and letting God be glorified as we each learn how to prioritize Him. There is space to ask him to teach you, and there is space to wrestle out and learn what he wants you to do. Iâm not here to condemn anyone….I’m still stumbling for my coffee too!! Iâm here to remind both of us to make time for what matters most, and that means to give ourselves to Jesus more, and more fully.
Go ahead friend, go get your favorite mug and take a sip!
So much love,
Joy