We are at the beginning of a new week and if your house is anything like mine there are a lot of things scribbled on the calendar that must be accomplished this week. Anything from work schedules, to doctors appointments, to church events and my to-do list. I keep everything on that calendar otherwise I might forget. It reminds me of what I have to get done and what is coming up. It keeps me organized. I have tried using a daily planner, book style, and I usually misplace the book and thereby becoming quickly disorganized once again. So a calendar works for me.
Sometimes we can become overwhelmed when we see something filled in for every day of our week and know that there are more things that will crop up that will need attending to as well. But let me remind you, (and me too) that we are in a race and we must keep the finish line in view otherwise we can become distracted from the prize.When my little brother first started T-Ball at the age of 4 or 5, I would go to watch his games. I loved watching the little boys in the outfield. Instead of paying attention to the game, they would be picking daisys and dandelions and talking with one another. They had lost their focus. Their eyes weren't on the game.
We can become so busy in our day to day lives that we forget about the important things that really matter. We can be so caught up in accomplishing everything on our schedule that we fail to schedule time in for God and sometimes even our families. We've all heard the expression 'take time to smell the roses' and we laugh it off and don't realize that we really need to. We are not set on this earth to be a hampster on a wheel. We are here to glorify God in all that we do. If we don't put Him first in our lives we will get so caught up in everything else that He soon takes a back seat.
The Word tells us in 2 Timothy 4:7-8 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."
What are we fighting against? We're fighting against the evil of this world, by not allowing it to creep into our lives and homes. We are fighting to stand up for what is right and decent. For speaking up against injustice and protecting those who are oppressed.
We are running a race and not becoming distracted by 'picking daisys'. We keep our eye on the finish line, which is Heaven and spending eternity with Christ. We stay focused on what God wants us to do, not necessarily on what is written on the calendar or our to-do list.
We keep the faith. How do we keep our faith when all around us is trying to tear us away from a relationship with God? We spend time with God by reading His Word and speaking to Him and listening for His voice. We keep the faith by receiving instruction from sermons and applying it to our lives. We trust in God and allow Him to direct our paths instead of setting our own agenda.
We live in a very busy world and many of you are not only caring for your children but for your parents as well. Some of you are caring for grandchildren and you might feel that the elastic of your life can't stretch much more. Let me encourage you to take a look at what is truly important and to weed the rest of the 'stuff' in your life out.
If we fight the good fight, run the race and keep the faith we are promised a crown of righteousness. The Lord will not be giving out crowns for us attending another meeting, or running another errand or finishing our to-do list. He will be handing out crowns for us putting Him first and doing what He has asked us to do. So be encouraged and take a good look at the calendar today and make sure you make time for God.
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