Do you ever stare at a blank page and find yourself wondering what to write? If not, do you grab a sheet of paper and scribble down ideas without slowing down to review them or think about them?
Each of us is given a blank sheet of paper, so to speak, every day we wake up. We have a new day filled with opportunities and possibilities. How we spend that day is up to us. Each day gives us eighty-four thousand, six hundred seconds to use and we get to determine how each one of them is spent.
At a recent retreat I gave each woman a blank calendar day. The hours and half hours of the day were indicated, but otherwise it was blank. I asked them to fill in a typical day for themselves, realizing that no two days are exactly alike. Some people live a more routine life and easily jotted down their daily schedule. Others had to think about it, but eventually everyone had something written down. Then I challenged them with this: “We say we want more of God, but what are we doing about it? Dr. Oswald Sanders says ‘Each of us is as close to God as we choose to be.’ What part of your day could you do away with in order to make more room for God?”
I ask you the same question today. We look at those we consider giants of the faith like Billy Graham or Beth Moore and say, “I want what he has or I want what she has,” yet we fail to make the sacrifice to get it. We are all given them same number of hours in a day. Those who pursue God passionately aren’t given a couple of extra hours for good behavior. They are given eighty-four thousand, six hundred seconds a day, just like you and me. So what are they doing we aren’t doing?
They understand Paul in Philippians 3:7-8 when he says, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” Christ is the priority, not just something to fit in the schedule. He is the beginning and ending of all things [Revelations 22:13]. They follow the example of Jesus who got up very early, while it was still dark outside to meet with His Father, because He needed that time to face His day and so do we [Mark 1:35].
In order to pursue the Lord this way, some of us need to tweak our daily routine. Some of us need to sacrifice a television show in order to go to bed earlier so we can rise earlier to meet with the Lord. Some of us need to fast from Facebook, Twitter or Pintrest to gain a healthy perspective of how much time we give to those things. Some of us simply need to admit our need for time alone with Jesus and make it a priority. Only you and the Lord know what you need to change or adjust in order to truly make Him priority in your life (notice I didn’t say “a priority” in your life). You’ve got a clean slate, a blank piece of paper. Who is going to hold the pencil? Who is going to fill your schedule and dictate how you spend your time? You or Him? The choice is yours.