It’s Time: 7 Time Management Strategies to Take Back Your Calendar, Reduce Overwhelm, and Flourish on Purpose a 7-Day Plan by Najah DrakesSample

Day 4: Jesus never skipped the fundamentals

I am the only girl in my family of 7.

As a basketball mom, I have lost (I mean spent) years of my life watching basketball games.

While the fancy maneuvers of basketball legends make for amazing TV, strong fundamentals win games.

No matter how many slam dunks or impressive half-court shots are made, our favorite teams would never make it to the championships without the dozens of unmemorable layups.

Jesus cares deeply about the fundamentals.

In fact, He regularly directs key characters back to them.

In Mark 10:19, the rich young ruler checked off all the boxes of the things he had done, yet he missed the fundamentals. Despite his accomplishments at a young age, an unimpressed Jesus redirected him back to the fundamentals to give up everything and follow Him (Mark 10:21).

When an educated lawyer tested Jesus by asking Him the greatest commandment of all, Jesus responded without hesitation, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37).

Jesus points him back to the fundamentals.

While the world celebrates the slam dunks of life, Jesus is unimpressed by our fancy lives or accomplishments that overlook the fundamentals that matter to Him.

Often, we want a purposeful life without building that life one purposeful day at a time.

We want a healthy body without developing a consistently healthy lifestyle.

We want spiritual maturity without daily meditation, study, and application.

We want good mental health without rest, diet, boundaries, habits, and counsel.

We want perfectly managed time without implementing the boundaries, processes, and vision required to achieve it.

Fundamentals are built line upon line and precept upon precept. It takes discipline. And it often takes small beginnings, so do not despise them.

If you want to flourish within the God-given time assigned to you, do not forsake 15 minutes daily studying His word.

Do not despise skipping the snooze button to devote 20 minutes to exercise.

No matter how accomplished your life may seem, you are short-changing the most purposeful life God desires for you if you skip the fundamentals.

Prayer:

Lord, help me not become so impressed by the slam dunks of life that I forego the fundamentals you value. Help me value what you value, Lord. Amen.

Journal Prompt:

What fundamentals are missing from your things-to-do list?