Charles Hummel goes right to the example that Jesus laid before us.  As we read the Gospels we see absolutely no example of Jesus being driven by the urgent.  Never.  In fact, several times when presented with the urgent, he rejected urgency in favor of importance.  A few examples of that would be: when Lazarus was dying and Jesus stayed put until he had died, not allowing the people to elevate him as king, moving on to another town even though there were still sick and possessed people to help, and slipping away early  in the morning to spend quiet time with his Father.

The key to battling the Tyranny of the Urgent is stopping and dropping to our knees.

Jesus showed us that his time directed by his Father, our Father. He spent time with him in the morning to make sure that he knew what was on the agenda for the day.  Please keep in mind that Jesus had no computer, no cell phone, no desktop calendar, not even a Day-Timer to keep track of his schedule, yet in John 17 verse 4 Jesus said this:

“4 I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. “

How did Jesus do this?  Did he have a planner somewhere we don’t know about? How did he keep track of all the tasks that needed to be completed?  Jesus focused on the priorities God revealed to him on a daily basis during his morning quiet time.

When was the last time you got quiet time in the morning before things got crazy?  Really quiet?  Has it ever occurred to you that our Heavenly Father cares about the details of each of your days?  Just like the scriptures say that He knows the numbers of the hairs on your head and the number of sparrows that fall to the ground, He  knows what He wants you to accomplish each day.  He tells us “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today”.

Step back, right now, and ask yourself to consider the “Tyranny of the Urgent” in your life today.  These are items being thrown into your life to distract you from your mission for today.  Spend some time with our Father and find out what He has planned for you.

Next week: Budgeting your time.