Where Are Your Priorities?

Priorities. The word prior is defined as “taking precedence (as in importance)”¹. The recent death of a friend of my son and daughter-in-law is one of the things God is using to lead me to rethink my priorities.
My daughter-in-law posted her thoughts on Facebook and I was convicted by what she had to say. Carie wrote, “While we were dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy, the NFL draft was going on. The number of comments that were going on where Hal was and where I was was enough for a person to go mad. But it got us both thinking, what are the priorities of so many people? The number of people who would put a sports game…over a friend who is hurting is startling. The number of people who feel inconvenienced when someone comes to them for help is upsetting. People do not make time for people anymore. People make time for stuff and activities. People, take the time if someone comes to you. Don’t flippantly say to someone ‘how are you?’ and not really want a true response. Take the time. Be observant!”
I am to be like Jesus. I cannot do this on my own strength but God Word tells me I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. When Jesus walked this earth, He cared about people, not things, events, or anything else. He still does. So logic dictates that I should care about people, not things or events or anything else. One of the best ways to show someone you care is to really listen to them. We all want to be heard. We all want to matter. When I don’t listen to someone, I am telling him or her “you are not important to me.” That is not the message I want to convey to others. I want people to know that I care about what is happening in their lives. It’s really not so hard. Just learn to listen, to really hear the heart of a person. You just may change someone’s life.

¹(2009). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
Retrieved April 28, 2009, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prior

God's Promises

“At that time, when you call, the LORD will answer; when you cry out,

He will say: Here I am.”
Isaiah 58:9a (HCSB)

“God, I have claimed your promise to always be with me but I feel so alone. I don’t understand.” These words of frustration and bewilderment poured

out of me as I cried tears of loneliness.
Loneliness.

I live alone. I eat alone. I go places alone. I have too much aloneness.

I know that in His Word God promises many times to be with me. I have memorized many of those verses and repeated them to Him on numerous occasions.

Yet, I am lonely. I could not understand why God was not honoring His promises to me. The anger and frustration finally erupted in a volcano of emotion one evening and I cried out in my distress. He answered me the next morning during my quiet time as I read Isaiah 58: 6-14. The small work “if” jumped out at me. God gave an if with His promise. This was an eye-opener for me. I wanted to know more.
I began by looking up verse 11 in several different translations. I wrote the one that ministered to me the most on an index card. “I will always show you where to go. I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry.” (MSG).
I read the chapter in which the verse is located searching for words that indicate conditions: if, then, and when. I listed each condition on the index card with the promise. I made copies of the card and placed them on my refrigerator, my computer at home and at work, and in my car. I spent time memorizing the verse each day.
One of the conditions for Isaiah 58:11 is to “spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed…” (v.10). I decided to work on this by praying for and investigating opportunities to minister to hurting people. I hope this small step will lead to life changing events.
My desperate cry for understanding was answered in a way that changed my life. He revealed His desire for me to be a participant, not a spectator in His plan for my life. Jesus was a doer while on the earth and He taught His disciples to be the same. The conditions God places on His promises teach His children to grow to be more like Jesus. Take a small step. Choose one condition for one promise and ask God to light the way.

He is faithful.

He will answer.