Do you wish there was more time in a day? I do. The demands of everyday life are great. Sometimes I do wonder how we all manage to get by with all the things we are asked to do. Juggling seems to be the style of living for many of us, especially during these last weeks of the year. Life is meant to be enjoyed, people cherished, and God worshiped. How can we accomplish that when we rush through things and stress out everything?

Put God first…

So we all want to have peace, love, and harmony. How then do we get there? The trick here is to do something the world despises: we are to put ourselves last. It might seem like the worst idea ever but by putting God first something amazing happens: our world stops spinning. We are not alone anymore and God is in control of our lives. That realization releases so much energy from us that suddenly we can do anything through Christ who strengthens us (Phil. 4:13,*).

We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. (1 Cor. 13: 12-13, MSG,*))

…and then there are only three things to do

As children of God, we are on our journey to God. Meanwhile, we are meant to live our lives with joy and thanksgiving. When we put God first there are only three things left to do: trust, hope, and love. And when we practice these three things, our life becomes less chaotic. By putting God first we start to trust when we don’t see things clearly, to hope when there is no big picture, and to love when nothing makes sense.

That’s why everything changes when we put God first. We are reminded that God is in control of our lives. Not us but God Almighty. When we trust, hope, and love, we are living out our faith in God. We will not be left alone in our troubles and we will not be disappointed or short-changed. God will guide us steadily, help us unswervingly, and sustain us extravagantly.

If we let him, God will take care of all of our needs. But not without our consent. Not with our permission. Because God is love. And there’s nothing better than that. There’s nothing greater than God. Not the demands of our lives, not the challenges of our lives, not the hardships we face. Nothing compares to God. Nothing. Thanks be to God!

 

Gracious God,
Come!
Enable us to trust and fully surrender to you.
Restore our hope to you each morning.
Fill our hearts with your love.
Equip us to trust, hope, and love
just like you.
Live in us, bring us home to you.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: How do you manage your everyday life?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you navigate through the demands of everyday life. Don’t forget to leave your baggage at the foot of the Cross and pick up trust, hope, and love!

* [As you might have noticed, I enjoy reading the Bible in different translations and love comparing them. I have started linking the Bible verses toBiblegateway.com so you can easily read (and compare) them in the different versions I’ve used while preparing each post.].

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash. This post is refurbished from 2011. Linking up today with Dance with Jesus, Five-minute Friday.