How important is your devotional life in this troubled times? How do you manage your time so that the most important things are never missed in your day?
One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers he said, Okay, time for a quiz.
Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide mouth mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, Is this jar full? Everyone in the class said, Yes.
Then he said, Really? He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, Is the jar full? By this time the class was on to him. Probably not, one of them answered.
Good he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, Is this jar full? No the class shouted.
In these troubled times, it would seem that we need our devotional time more than ever. Please share how you manage your time so that your top priorities
Once again he said, Good. Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, What is the point of this illustration? One eager beaver raised his hand and said, The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it.
No, the speaker replied, thats not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you dont put the big rocks in first, youll never get them in at all.
What are the big rocks in your life? Time with your loved ones? faith, education, your dreams? A worthy cause? Teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or youll never get them in at all.
So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the big rocks in my life?
Then, put those in your jar first.
P/S: Is spending time with God one of those big rocks?
Thank you Anonymous for sharing how you prioritize your devotional life. I admire your discipline and dedication.
I would be interested to understand more e.g. what do you mean by devotionals?
I assume "off to the races" is not to be taken literally.
My devotional life leaves so much to be desired that I do not wish to share my routine (actually lack of routine) at the moment. It is something I urgently wish to change.
A major obstacle to overcome is my husband's perception. We both come from fanatical Adventist backgrounds. If I perform too much spiritual activity in front of him, he gets concerned at what mental state I am in because my tendency is still towards fanaticism. It is a balancing act. I'm currently 'getting away' with a personal appearance that is much more conservative than anyone around me. I've recently improved my diet (moving towards vegan). I must be careful and sensitive because too much would be too much. If I followed your devotional schedule it might 'rock the boat' at the moment.
However, I'm sure if I gave more thought to the matter, there are lots of things that I could quietly improve.
I'm sure you understand that living together involves balancing values. To give you an example, my husband values listening to country music in the car. If I insisted on scripture set to music, this would be uncomfortable. The compromise is that I get to listen to classical music some of the time. This is just an example of balancing. Having said that, I guess I could ask to listen to scripture set to music while driving to church (instead of country gospel). He could listen to his country gospel on the way home.
Having read through your devotional routine again, I see that it fits into some simple categories: 1) communicating with God, 2) reading God's words, 3) listening to God's words.
Today, I commit to more time praying, reading God's words and listening to God's words.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Thank you Anonymous for sharing how you prioritize your devotional life. I admire your discipline and dedication.
sorry Shireen, that was me, NB
I would be interested to understand more e.g. what do you mean by devotionals?
EGW devotionals... my favs are Our High Calling and This Day with God
I assume "off to the races" is not to be taken literally.
It means, the rat race of this world.... so hard to live a sanctified life and do all the right things when we are thrown into the mix...driving in traffic, hearing bad music at the stores we have to buy groceries from, etc.
My devotional life leaves so much to be desired that I do not wish to share my routine (actually lack of routine) at the moment. It is something I urgently wish to change.
A major obstacle to overcome is my husband's perception. We both come from fanatical Adventist backgrounds. If I perform too much spiritual activity in front of him, he gets concerned at what mental state I am in because my tendency is still towards fanaticism. It is a balancing act. I'm currently 'getting away' with a personal appearance that is much more conservative than anyone around me. I've recently improved my diet (moving towards vegan). I must be careful and sensitive because too much would be too much. If I followed your devotional schedule it might 'rock the boat' at the moment.
often we are called legalists/fanatics but this is others thinking that they can read our hearts and they cannot.... it is always best to do the right thing and it will not be in vain if we constantly seek Him first and pray and ask for the indwelling Spirit of God to change our hearts/minds.
However, I'm sure if I gave more thought to the matter, there are lots of things that I could quietly improve.
Yes, me too... always room for improvement.
I'm sure you understand that living together involves balancing values. To give you an example, my husband values listening to country music in the car. If I insisted on scripture set to music, this would be uncomfortable. The compromise is that I get to listen to classical music some of the time. This is just an example of balancing. Having said that, I guess I could ask to listen to scripture set to music while driving to church (instead of country gospel). He could listen to his country gospel on the way home.
Classical music is great. do the scripture songs when you are alone...
Please share more about contemplation as this is a controversial word these days (e.g. spiritual formation controversy).
sorry for the confusion... and yes, we have to be careful as Satan has a counterfeit for everything that God has given us... by contemplation or meditation on scripture simply means that I try and think carefully about certain passages that impress my mind and think of application to my life and try and think of the lesson throughout the day... right now I'm reading about the many things that Elisha did... wonderful !!
Do not study yourself; look away from self to Jesus.
Many thanks for sharing. I'm very grateful for this information. It's really hard to get an insight into correct spirituality when so many around me are following other paths or are not openly spiritual. Blessings as you abide in Jesus.
That:s quite a full schedule - keeping close to the world to come, instead of this world, nb.
I:m not anywhere near there, tho I do read quite a bit. Somehow, when I:ve read the Bible almost 10 times, and probably 80 - 90% of everything Ellen White ever wrote, it gets harder to get impressed with something new, altho I do admit the Holy Spirit brings out things hear and there that I hadn:t thot of before, and no doubt just keeping my eyes and brain focused on God:s words is very healthy for me.
Shireen, that is very interesting to me about your *fanatical* background. I wonder what that is all about.....
Your comment *I'm sure you understand that living together involves balancing values.* is something I can:t agree with as written, but maybe you mean something different than I:m thinking. To me, *values* is about the same as *beliefs*. Your example is something that I would call like *preferences*. Maybe it:s the English teacher in me.
