But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.   Matthew 6:33 CSB

I had an opportunity this weekend to attend a women’s conference at a local church. The speaker was Susan Heck, and she said some things that got my attention and had me thinking. One of which was, “What is so important that it’s keeping you from God?”

I spent too many years of my life doing things I considered to be “important” but have since realized they were useless. Since I have rededicated my life to Christ, I have come to understand the truth found in Matthew 6:33. If I focus on Him, He will provide all I need. I don’t need to worry about me because He will take good care of me.

When we lose focus our lives can become chaotic. When we focus on ourselves or become inwardly focused, we are not living as God wants us to live. Many Bibles list the verses in Matthew 6 from vv. 25-34 as a cure for anxiety.

When our focus is off it brings about chaos in our lives which leads to high levels of anxiety. So, I ask the question asked by Ms. Heck in our conference, what is so important that it is keeping you from God or keeping you from focusing on God? When you ask someone about their Bible study or their prayer life, it’s very common for them to tell you they don’t have time.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I pray throughout the day. I pray when I’m cutting grass or when I’m driving. I just don’t close my eyes. I try to do what we are told to do in Proverbs 3:5. I try not to lean on my own understanding but acknowledge Him in all I do.

If we pray, we are doing well with half of it, but it is a one-sided conversation if we don’t have Bible study. If we are having a conversation with God, we need to understand that what He has to say to us is way more important that what we say to Him.

If you don’t have time to spend with God, what are you doing? One thing Ms. Heck said she often does is suggest someone keeps a time journal. They jot down what they do each day and how long they spend doing it?

This is the same principal Weight Watchers uses in tracking food. I remember thinking I just didn’t understand why I was gaining weight. I exercised a lot and didn’t eat that much. Well, let me tell you I was eating way more than I realized.

I am also willing to bet that if you are willing to analyze your time each day you will find that you spend a whole lot of it on needless things like social media and video games. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to face Jesus at judgment and say, “Sorry, I couldn’t spend time with You each day, I was trying to beat my best score, or I had to find out what so and so was up to.” I don’t think that’s going to matter much when it comes to where we spend eternity, just sayin’.

If you are not spending time with God each day, you are not managing your time well. That’s all there is to it. To answer the question, “What is so important that it keeps us from God?” Let me tell you the answer is “Nothing.” Nothing is so important that it should get in our way of spending time with God daily and even throughout the day.

Yes, we are workers and parents and siblings and children, and we have responsibilities to our families and our friends and our church. But our first responsibility is to our Lord and Savior. If we put Him first, He will help us to do all we need to do. He will provide all we need, but we must put Him first.

Have a great day!