Don’t let the busyness of life keep you from your purpose. When you let go of the distractions and prioritize spending time with God, He will crown your efforts with success!
>> VICTORIA OSTEEN: THANK
YOU, LORD.
WE ARE A GRATEFUL PEOPLE,
AMEN?
YOU MAY BE SEATED.
I JUST WANT TO ENCOURAGE US
ALL, AT THE FIRST OF THIS
YEAR, TO NOT ALLOW BUSYNESS
TO CONSUME OUR LIVES, TOO NOT
ALLOW JUST THE BUSYNESS OF
LIFE TO OVERWHELM US AND
OVERTAKE US.
WE ALL HAVE A MILLION THINGS
TO DO.
THERE’S OUR JOBS, OUR
FAMILIES.
WE HAVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF
ALL KINDS, WE HAVE CHORES TO
DO, PLENTY OF ACTIVITIES THAT
CAN KEEP US BUSY, BUT I WANT
TO ENCOURAGE US, TO NOT BE
BUSY, BUT BE PRODUCTIVE.
YOU SEE, IF WE’RE GOING TO
SEE OUR DREAMS AND DESIRES
COME TO PASS FOR THIS YEAR,
THOSE THINGS THAT WE’RE
EXPECTING, WE’RE GOING TO
HAVE TO MAKE ROOM FOR THEM.
WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO CLEAR
OUT SOME OF THE CLUTTER AND
SET SOME PRIORITIES.
YOU SEE, IF YOU WANT A
HEALTHY, STRONG FAMILY THIS
YEAR, IF THAT’S THE DESIRE OF
YOUR HEART, YOU’RE GOING TO
HAVE TO MOVE SOME THINGS
AROUND.
YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO GIVE
YOUR FAMILY THE FIRST AND
BEST OF YOUR TIME, NOT YOUR
LEFTOVERS.
MAYBE YOU’RE LEARNING A NEW
CAREER, GETTING READY FOR A
PROMOTION.
YOU CAN’T STAY OUT WITH YOUR
FRIENDS ALL NIGHT AND EXPECT
TO GET TO WORK THE NEXT DAY
AND PERFORM AT YOUR TOP
ABILITY.
YOUR DESIRE IS TO GET OUT OF
DEBT THIS YEAR.
“THIS IS THE YEAR I’M GETTING
OUT OF DEBT.
I CAN FEEL IT, I CAN SENSE
IT.”
YOU CAN’T GO AND SPEND
EVERYTHING THAT YOU SEE.
YOU CAN’T BUY EVERYTHING THAT
YOU SEE.
YOU CAN’T BE SPENDING YOUR
MONEY; YOU’VE GOT TO LEARN
HOW TO SAVE IT.
YOU GOT TO SET SOME
PRIORITIES.
YOU SEE, IF WE’RE GOING TO
SEE OUR DREAMS AND DESIRES
COME TO PASS.
WE CAN’T JUST LET EVERYTHING
OCCUPY OUR TIME AND GET US
OFF COURSE.
YOU KNOW, AT ONE POINT IN MY
LIFE, I THOUGHT THAT
MULTI-TASKING WAS A GIFT, AND
I HAD IT IN ABUNDANCE.
I COULD JUGGLE ALL THESE
BALLS IN THE AIR.
IN FACT, SOMETIMES I WOULD
LOOK AT JOEL AND THINK, “LOOK
AT ME.
LOOK HOW MUCH I CAN DO.”
NOW, YOU KNOW, WOMEN WE DO
HAVE A LITTLE MORE TENDENCY
THAN MEN TO WEAR A LOT OF
HATS.
WE TRY TO DO IT ALL.
SO WOMEN, WE CAN SOMEHOW FALL
IN THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE
THAN MEN.
BUT I REALIZED ONE DAY, THAT
MY MULTI-TASKING WAS NOT
PRODUCTIVE.
WHAT IT WAS DOING WAS BURNING
MY ENERGY.
I WAS WORKING ON ONE THING,
THINKING ABOUT TWO OTHER
THINGS.
IT WAS CAUSING ME TO HAVE A
HURRY SPIRIT.
SEE, I HAD TO HURRY AND DO
THIS, SO I COULD HURRY AND DO
THAT.
THE PEOPLE AROUND ME HAD TO
HURRY BECAUSE I HAVE TO
HURRY.
YOU KNOW, THAT BRINGS STRESS
INTO OUR LIFE.
THAT IS NOT PRODUCTIVE.
YOU SEE, SO OFTEN WE THINK
THAT ACTIVITY EQUALS
PRODUCTIVITY, AND IT DOESN’T.
ACTIVITY SOMETIMES JUST MEANS
BUSY, JUST BUSY, AND WE DON’T
WANT TO WEAR BUSYNESS AS AN
IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTE IN OUR
LIFE.
WE WANT TO WEAR FRUITFULNESS,
PRODUCTIVENESS.
WE WANT OUR LIFE TO REPRESENT
THE GOOD THINGS OF GOD.
WE WANT OUR LIFE TO BE IN A
PLACE OF PRIORITY, GETTING
THE RIGHT THINGS DONE AT THE
RIGHT TIME.
I WANT TO ENCOURAGE US, LET’S
DON’T PUT THE LESSER THINGS
IN AND LEAVE OUT THE MORE
IMPORTANT THINGS.
IT SAYS IN PSALMS 90:12,
“TEACH US TO NUMBER OUR DAYS,
SO THAT WE CAN GAIN A HEART
OF WISDOM.”
THAT PSALM WAS A PRAYER OF
MOSES, AND I CAN ONLY HEAR
THE CRY OF HIS HEART, “GOD
TEACH ME, TEACH ME AND SHOW
ME HOW TO ORDER AND
PRIORITIZE MY DAY.”
MOSES WAS THE MAN WHO WAS IN
CHARGE OF ALL THE ISRAELITES.
HE BROUGHT THEM OUT OF
CAPTIVITY AND WAS GOD’S MAN
LEADING THEM INTO THE
PROMISED LAND.
CAN YOU IMAGINE THE GREAT
RESPONSIBILITY ON MOSES’S
LIFE?
THEY SAID IT WAS OVER 600,000
MEN, THAT’S NOT INCLUDING ALL
THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN THAT
HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR.
ALL EYES WERE ON MOSES.
HE HAD TO HAVE ALL THE
ANSWERS.
HE HAD TO KNOW HOW TO GET TO
THE RIGHT PLACES.
HE HAD TO BE THE ONE TO HEAR
FROM GOD FOR THEM.
I’M SURE SOME OF YOU FEEL A
LITTLE BIT LIKE MOSES.
EVERYBODY’S ASKING YOU
THINGS.
YOU NEED TO FIX ALL THEIR
PROBLEMS.
YOU NEED TO PRAY FOR THEM.
YOU NEED TO BRING IN THE
MONEY.
YOU NEED TO DO IT ALL.
YOU FEEL OVERWHELMED.
YOU SEE, YOU NEED TO PRAY THE
SAME PRAYER MOSES DID, “GOD,
TEACH ME TO ORDER MY DAY.
TEACH ME TO PUT THE RIGHT
THINGS INTO PROSPECTIVE.
NOT TO PUT THE LESSER THINGS
FIRST, BUT THE WHAT MATTERS
FIRST.”
YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A COUNT
OF–THERE WAS AN ACCOUNT OF
MOSES AND HE WAS TRYING TO
SETTLE ALL THE DISPUTES AMONG
THE PEOPLE.
HE WOULD SIT DAY IN AND DAY
OUT, LISTENING TO THEIR
ARGUMENTS, LISTENING TO THE
THINGS THAT WERE GOING WRONG
IN THEIR LIFE.
HE WAS TRYING TO GIVE THEM
THE RIGHT ANSWERS, TRYING TO
SETTLE DISPUTES AMONG THEM,
DAY IN AND DAY OUT.
ONE DAY, GOD SENT HIS
FATHER-IN-LAW, JETHRO, AND
JETHRO OBSERVED WHAT WAS
HAPPENING, THAT MOSES WAS
JUST WEARING HIMSELF OUT,
SITTING AMONG THE PEOPLE,
TRYING TO RESOLVE ALL THE
PROBLEMS AND DO EVERYTHING
ELSE HE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO,
AND JETHRO SPOKE INTO HIS
LIFE AND SAID, “YOU NEED TO
SET UP A SYSTEM.
YOU NEED TO APPOINT YOUR
GODLY, GOD-FEARING MEN, PUT
THEM OVER THE TRIBES.
BEGIN TO SET UP A SYSTEM THAT
YOU COULD MEET THE NEEDS OF
THE PEOPLE.
DON’T WEAR YOURSELF OUT DOING
THE THING THAT OTHER PEOPLE
CAN DO.
YOU NEED TO DO WHAT ONLY YOU
CAN DO.
YOU NEED TO SET YOUR
PRIORITIES.”
I TRULY BELIEVE THAT WAS AN
ANSWER TO MOSES’S PRAYER.
HE SENT A WISE COUNSEL TO
HIM, TO HELP HIM GAIN THE
RIGHT PROSPECTIVE, TO HELP
HIM CLEAR SOME OF THE CLUTTER
AND REARRANGE HIS LIFE.
YOU SEE, GOD WANTS TO HELP
US.
HE’S GOT PEOPLE OUT THERE TO
HELP YOU.
HE’S GOT IDEAS TO MAKE YOUR
LIFE EASIER.
WE’VE GOT TO PRAY, “GOD, HELP
US.”
IT’S ABOUT ORDERING OUR LIFE,
SO THAT WE CAN SEE OUR GOD
CALLINGS COME INTO EXISTENCE,
COME INTO FULL FRUITION.
WE WANT TO BE ALL THAT GOD
HAS CALLED US TO BE.
MY QUESTION TODAY IS, ARE YOU
PUTTING THE BIG ROCKS IN
FIRST?
SEE, THE BIG ROCKS REPRESENT
THE IMPORTANT THINGS, THE
THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO MOVE
YOU FORWARD, THE THINGS THAT
ARE GOING TO SATISFY YOU AND
BRING FORTH THESE
GOD-CALLINGS OUT IN YOUR
LIFE AND IN THE LIVES OF
THOSE YOU LOVE.
YOU SEE, THERE WAS A
PROFESSOR, AND HE STOOD UP IN
FRONT OF HIS STUDENTS AND HE
HELD UP A GLASS JAR, A
SEE-THROUGH JAR, AND HE PUT
THREE BIG ROCKS IN IT.
THE ROCKS FILLED THE TOP OF
THE GLASS AND HE ASKED HIS
STUDENTS, “IS THE JAR FULL?”
TO THEM, IT LOOKED FULL.
THEY WERE TO THE TOP OF THE
CONTAINER, AND THEN HE
GRABBED SOME GRAVEL AND HE
BEGAN TO PUT IT IN THE JAR,
AND SHAKE THE JAR AND THE
GRAVEL BEGAN TO WORK ITS WAY
DOWN.
HE ASKED HIS STUDENTS, “IS
THE JAR FULL?”
THEN HE GOT SOME SAND AND HE
BEGIN TO POUR THE SAND IN,
AND THE SAND STARTED FILLING
IN ALL THE OTHER EMPTY
SPACES.
YOU SEE, HIS ILLUSTRATION AND
EXAMPLE WAS TO SHOW HIS
STUDENT A LESSON IN
PRODUCTIVITY.
HE WAS SHOWING THEM THAT IF
YOU WILL PUT THE BIG ROCKS IN
FIRST, ALL THE LITTLE THINGS
WILL MAKE ITS WAY AROUND
THEM, BUT IF YOU PUT THE
GRAVEL, THE SAND AND ALL THIS
STUFF IN FIRST, YOU’RE NOT
GOING TO HAVE ROOM FOR THE
BIG ROCKS.”
YOU SEE, MY QUESTION IS, WHAT
ROCKS ARE WE PUTTING IN
FIRST?
THE BIG ROCKS ARE THE
IMPORTANT ROCKS.
WE HAVE TO PUT THE BIG ROCKS
IN OUR CONTAINER OF LIFE
FIRST, IF THEY’RE GOING TO
GET DONE, AND ONE OF THE
MAJOR, BIG ROCKS, THAT WOULD
BENEFIT ALL OF US, WOULD BE
SPENDING TIME WITH GOD.
YOU SEE OUR GOD-ROCK SHOULD
BE THE FIRST ROCK THAT WE PUT
IN OUR CONTAINER OF LIFE.
THE SCRIPTURE SAYS IN
PROVERBS 3, “THAT IF YOU WILL
ACKNOWLEDGE GOD, FIRST PLACE
IN EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO,
THAT HE WILL DIRECT YOUR PATH
AND HE WILL CROWN YOUR
EFFORTS WITH SUCCESS.”
YOU SEE, IT’S SO EASY IN THE
MORNING TO PULL OUR PHONES
OFF OF THE CHARGER AND BEGIN
TO LOOK AT OUR TEXT MESSAGES,
OUR EMAILS, CHECK OUT SOCIAL
MEDIA, AND BEFORE WE KNOW IT,
TIME HAS GOTTEN AWAY FROM US.
SO WE HAVE TO PUT THAT
GOD-ROCK ASIDE FOR A LATER
TIME.
BUT SEE, IF YOU WANT GOD TO
DIRECT YOUR PATH, IF YOU WANT
HIM TO CROWN YOUR EFFORTS
WITH SUCCESS, HE SAYS, “PUT
ME FIRST.”
NOBODY WANTS TO MOVE IN THE
WRONG DIRECTION.
NOBODY WANTS TO WASTE THEIR
TIME HANGING AROUND THE WRONG
PEOPLE.
NO ONE WANTS TO DO THE THINGS
THAT AREN’T IMPORTANT.
WE ALL WANT TO BE PRODUCTIVE.
WE WANT TO REACH THE FULLNESS
OF OUR DESTINY.
SO MY ENCOURAGEMENT TODAY IS,
LET’S ALL MAKE A DECISION TO
PUT THE GOD-ROCK FIRST IN OUR
JAR OF LIFE AND THEN ALL THE
OTHER THINGS WILL BEGIN TO
MAKE THEIR WAY DOWN.
PUT THAT GOD-ROCK IN AND GOD
WILL HELP YOU IDENTIFY THE
OTHER BIG ROCKS, THEN ALL THE
OTHER THINGS CAN MAKE THEIR
WAY DOWN INTO YOUR JAR OF
LIFE, AMEN?
AMEN.
HE’S AN AWESOME GOD.