First Things FirstSample

 FIRST THINGS FIRST 

Successful people prioritize. They know what needs to be done immediately and what can wait until later. Think about a top CEO or professional athlete. So many dedicated hours, intense focus and countless sacrifices made along the way – knowing how to prioritize is key. 

Then there’s Jesus, God in the flesh. Even Jesus set an example of prioritizing. In the Gospel of Mark, we get a glimpse of Jesus’ day to day pressures early in His ministry. Here, Jesus is first recorded as performing miracles, teaching and healing. It doesn’t take long before word spreads and crowds begin to gather – no social media, no TV, no radio. This sounds like any speaker’s dream. In fact, the apparent early “success” could have easily become distracting. 

But, what does Jesus do? After a full day of ministry, Jesus gets up early to pray. I love this about Jesus! While it was still dark and sacrificing some well-earned sleep, Jesus chose to start His day with His Father. Jesus knew He needed time to be restored, refreshed and renewed. He needed encouragement and strength for the day ahead. 

Now, if Jesus needed time with God- I sure do! And you do too. Jesus shows us that the most important appointment every day is that first appointment – with God. We need to begin our days being renewed and strengthened by our heavenly Father. Starting our days with God means leaning on HIS strength rather than OUR strength throughout the day. It means staying focused on who we are and why we’re here. It means following the example of Jesus and starting every day with God – first things first. (Maybe like you’ve done today!)