“This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you.” – Romans 15:22
It’s very common to have good plans, intentions, and desires but never get around to doing them. The question each person must ask is why? For Paul, his good intentions to visit the Christians in Rome were long-delayed because of his ongoing calling from God to preach Jesus in places where His name had never been preached. That was a good reason for Paul to keep delaying his good intentions! Paul clearly understood God’s calling on his life and he prioritized that.
If you struggle to accomplish the things you’d like to do, think about why that is? Is it because you’re doing something better and more important? Or is it because you aren’t managing your time and priorities well? We all have 168 hours in each week and 52 weeks in each year. Most of us have more things we’d like to do than we have time to do them. So, we must prioritize how we use our time. If we aren’t intentional about our priorities, we’ll still prioritize but unintentionally. Most people don’t intentionally prioritize watching too much TV, playing video games too long, or scrolling their phones for hours. That’s just what happens when we’re unintentional about our priorities.
So, what are your priorities? Do you know what God has called you to do? If you have clarity about God’s will and calling on your life, prioritize that! It’s much easier to say “Yes” to what’s most important and to graciously say “No” to lesser priorities when you know what’s most important for you to do. If you aren’t yet clear on that, prioritize spending time with God praying, reading and meditating on His Word, and reflecting on what He’s gifted and prepared you to do. Make following Jesus more closely your #1 priority. #FollowJesus