“O” is for ORDER
by Marie B.
For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people.1 Corinthians 14:33 NLT
For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth. . .Ecclesiastes 3: 1 NET Bible
I’m beginning to notice how organized God is. Look how he created the world in Genesis. He did it step-by-step. He was systematic and strategic.
“This will happen on Day 1. Next, this will happen on Day 2. Then Day 3, etc.”
Systematic. Strategic. Orderly.
Jesus didn’t seem frazzled either. He had a heavy workload, met with tons of people, yet he never seemed worried or burned out.
There were times he did miracles. Times he didn’t. He knew what to say “yes” to, what to say “no” to. Although he was sent to earth on a heavenly mission, he didn’t accept every need or S.O.S. as something He needed to personally fix.
There were lots of crippled, sick, blind people within his radius, yet he zeroed in on specific people to minister to.
How did Jesus know which invitations to accept, which challenges to take on, and what needed to be ignored?
How did he know that he needed to eat at Zacchaeus’ house after seeing him sitting on a tree, even though he was practically a stranger? How did he know that he needed to talk to the Samaritan woman by the well, even if he was already hungry and it wasn’t part of his daily schedule?
At the same time, how did he keep his cool and not react in panic after hearing of his cousins imprisonment and beheading (John the Baptist), and the death of his friend Lazarus?
All this said, this is why I’ve decided that I need God to ORDER my day, before the demands of the world come in. Because the same God who so efficiently and effectively created the world in Genesis, is the same God I call on to to CREATE MY DAY.
I call on Him early in the morning, while my day is formless and empty. I call on Him any time of the day, when I feel pressures tugging at me from different directions. I pray my C.O.R.E. prayer (which I’m sharing in this blog series) for God to create my day His way.
The C.O.R.E. prayer starts with an admission: I NEED GOD IN MY LIFE.
It’s not a prayer because “I need things,” or “I need answers,” or “I need healing.”
My C.O.R.E. Prayer is an acknowledgement and an admission that I need the God who created the universe to create my day. I need the Savior of my Soul today.
Its starts with:
C is for CLARITY. “Lord, give us CLARITY in this situation.”
There is nothing like reading God’s word to give you clear directions in life. You can read more about clarity here>
O is for ORDER. “Lord, help us know what steps to take.”
Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. For there is a time and a way for everything, although man’s trouble lies heavy on him.Ecclesiastes 8: 5-6
Where does real order come from?
ORDER comes from respecting God’s Timing.
How many of us have been burned by so-called “investment opportunities” with high-yielding returns but you have to grab it now before it’s too late? Or have we ever had relationships that messed us up?
Which opportunities should we take? Which ones should we release and say “no thank you” without feeling insecure that we are missing out on something?
I realize my timetable is not the same as Jesus. It’s not, “I want the answers NOW!!!” We need to do it NOW!!!
ORDER comes from obeying God’s priorities, not my emotions.
Unlike that soft drink commercial “Obey Your Thirst,” I realize that making decisions by obeying your thirst, can lead you and I into a lot of trouble!
Can you imagine if we all just simply “obeyed our thirst,” and followed our emotions or mood of the moment? We’d have more road rage, adulterous affairs, lying, cheating and murder!
But God surrounds us with His boundary lines for our protection, and proper growth as a decent human being and a child of God.
If we allow God to ORDER our day, we can expect Godly results. So hold on to his promise in Psalm 16:6
‘The (Boundary) lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”
Prayer:
Dear Jesus,
We need godly ORDER in our lives.
Show us how you did it. How did you live a fruitful life but not burn out?
Give us wisdom to know what to prioritize and what to delete from our schedules.
Give us an obedient heart to obey not our thirst, but respect our Heavenly Father’s priorities. Remind us that as we obey and trust God’s way, there will be peace and order in our souls, in Jesus name. So be it!