Day Two Hundred Thirty-Four “168 Hours”

             It is not an amazing thought?  Regardless of age, social status, or gender, every person on the planet has an equal number of hours available to them in a week: 168.  Even if we average 8 hours of sleep a night, that still leaves us with well over 100 hours at our disposal.  Why does it seem as if some folks can accomplish so much in that 168 hours?  The answer: priorities.  Defined as things that are regarded as more important than another, priorities will determine the way you spend your 168 hours.  Achievers determine in advance what they want to do, then tackle those tasks in order of importance; they learn to prioritize.

            When God’s chosen people returned to Jerusalem after years of captivity in Babylon, they were confronted with a devastating sight.  Nebuchadnezzar had left their holy city in shambles and destroyed the glorious temple built by King Solomon. But within two years of their return from exile, the people had cleared the temple mount and laid the foundation for the new temple.  It was then that an aggressive campaign of resistance from the neighboring heathen nations began, and that campaign was successful.  The temple work was abruptly halted, and for sixteen long years the returning exiles would suffer the effects of skewed priorities.

            Amazing thing about priorities, when God is not at the center of importance, nothing else is fruitful.  So it was with God’s children; they were spinning their wheels: “Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye drink but are not filled with drink; ye clothe ye, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages to put them in a bag with holes.”  Ever feel like that, that desperate feeling that you are not making any progress despite your efforts?  As the nation of Israel selfishly put their own welfare above God’s interests, they went nowhere.

            Enter Haggai, God’s man of the hour, to remind God’s children to “Consider your ways,” to ponder their priorities.  He exhorted them to “Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house, and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.”  With renewed resolve and commitment, the people of God would once again place God at the top of the priority list, complete His temple, and reestablish their worship and fellowship with Him.

            How were my last 168 hours spent? Was God the first consideration on my priority list, or did something else crowd Him out? When I pin my hopes on the temporary and lose track of my priorities, it’s time to stop and consider a better use of my time.

Haggai 1:14  And the LORD stirred up…all the remnant of the people, and they came and did the work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God.

Lord, may You always be at the center of my priority list. Stir me up when I let other activities take Your place in importance, and draw me gently back to You.

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