I am busy right now. Those words easily slip out of our mouths, and they send the person wanting something — or needing something — away from us.
Even when we finish what we need to do, there are then other things we need to do, right? That may be why it is called a ‘to-do’ list. As we know, those lists never end.
We take care of the immediate. We take care of the necessary. We take care of the priority. We take care of the important.
Or do we? And in what order? Let’s see:
• Immediate means nearest in time.
• Necessary means required to be done.
• Priority means most important.
• Important means of great value.
Do we tend to do the immediate and necessary before we take care of the priority and important? We often do, because we feel the need to get those things out of the way, before we get to the priority and important. Too often, we tend to put aside the true priority, because we have to finish doing our stuff first.
In Haggai 1, the temple had not been worked on in 15 years. It needed to be rebuilt. Haggai, the prophet, stepped up! He read a letter with a word of the Lord to the people. It encouraged the people to get to work. To rebuild that temple.
The letter said, “Consider your ways.” Powerful words. They spoke volumes then. They still do.
The letter pointed out that the people had sown much, but had brought in little. They ate, but it never seemed to be enough. They drank, but were never filled. They had clothes, but they were not warm enough. They earned wages, but put them in a bag with holes.
Oh my. The people were working hard — putting their efforts into their own lives and into their own homes. They were taking their hard earned salary and putting it in a bag with holes.
And then, these three words came: Consider your ways.
Yes, they were doing the immediate and necessary. Good things… but not God things. Confused priorities can cause us to miss the blessings of God in our lives.
In verse 13, the word from the Lord was, “I am with you.” Yes, God is with us!
The Lord then stirred up their spirit. Ahh… that stirring up of the spirit is the best!
After that, they quickly got to work in the house of the Lord.
If we are not careful, we will get too busy being busy that we will be too busy to do the things we need to be busy doing. Right?
Yes, our lives can be too busy — and we will not always be successful in prioritizing effectively, but it helps to remember God’s plan:
• Consider our ways.
• Know that the Lord is with us.
• Let the Lord stir us up.
• Get to work on our true priorities.

Ann is a sapeaker and teacher. Contact her at annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com