Priority

Priority

Acts 8: ²⁶ Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. ²⁷ So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.

============

“Take out the garbage” was the directive given to me. “Okay” was my response, but I was in the middle of a game with my friends. As the game went on, we got lost in the laughter. Eventually, my friends went home.

I walked past the seething cesspool of garbage and went to bed only to be awoken by the stench in the middle of the night. “I told you to take out the garbage. We cleaned out the refrigerator.”

• There were times when I said I would do something, but made it a low priority.
• There were times when I thought what I was doing was a higher priority.
• There were times when I should have prioritized something but did not and I faced consequence.

Philip was told to go to the desert by an angel of the LORD. He immediately obeyed, not knowing what he would find. He never questioned “How far?” or “How long should I be there?” He just went. When he got there, he met an Ethiopian eunuch who was worshiping the LORD by reading the prophet Isaiah. Philip’s obedience paid off.

• GOD wants me to listen to HIS directives HE gives me.
• GOD wants me to act on what HE says immediately.
• GOD wants me to accept what HE says as an act of obedience.

Acting with immediacy pleases GOD. HE guides by using HIS word and will not go against it. When HE says “Speak to that person about MY SON”, I should do it without hesitance. HE tells me to do things I don’t want to do like “Forgive that person” or “Stop doing that and follow ME.”

Obedience to GOD takes practice. HE wants me to let go of the things I prioritize over the things HE wants me to do. HE wants to be the priority each day. I am grateful GOD wants me to want HIM.

• Are you making GOD a priority?
• Do you make time to listen to HIM each day?
• Will you stop doing what you are doing and allow HIM to send you to who HE wants to send you to today?