Priorities!

Priorities!

Worry weighs us down; a cheerful word picks us up. Proverbs 12:25 MSG

When the man credited as being the wisest man on earth speaks on an issue, it will do us good to listen and learn the lessons from his words. When Solomon was asked to request for anything, he chose wisdom. It would appear that money, riches, wealth and connections aren't our most important possessions, but the wisdom that only God can give and which is available in and through Him. When wisdom comes, then other things may follow.

In that light, today's extract makes sense. If the wisdom from God is my first and only pursuit, then there can be no place for worry or anxiety. The reason why I may be anxious is that I have made room for it in my heart. It could be that there is space in my heart for God and for other things as well. Unfortunately, God cannot share space in your heart with other considerations; you either give God all or nothing at all.

This is the danger of worry: it takes your eyes off the amazing God to the mundane things around you. You begin to see the size of the problem, rather than seeing the great and mighty God. One lesson I keep learning is that worry does not change anything on the outside; it affects the balance on the inside and when you don't have inner calm, you will not see God move or hear when He speaks. The supply of grace that a heart set on God can receive is threatened.

The flip side is that when my heart is rightly connected, there is continual cheer. It is not that I have everything I need; it is just that I have the Only One who matters on my side, and that's just enough for me. There are no guarantees that the days of worry won't come, but I have the advance assurance that God has it all under control. It does not matter where the right Word comes from, but as long as God is the One speaking, all situations around me must respond to His voice.

Then, I consider also, can God trust me to speak a word in season to the one whose heart is also worried? Am I all about what I can get from God, or can God entrust lives into my hands, sure that I will receive from Him and speak his words to those whose hearts are heavy? Can I take my eyes away from my own situations long enough to see who He wants to reach through me? What are my priorities? What is my heart's focus: problems or praise? His time of favour is here.