“Asking God to change your priorities is like asking for patience.”
I tweeted this thought when I made one of the hardest decisions of my life. I remember it very clearly.
Late on a Tuesday night of my senior year of high school, I struggled to power through my homework, thoroughly exhausted. I wanted nothing more but to go to bed. I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore. I knew I had to stop ignoring what God placed in my heart. I couldn’t go on like this. I grabbed my phone and did what any typical teenager would do – I texted my best friend. Through blurry vision I typed out what was on my heart. Our conversation ended, but I was still distraught.
I knew God had answered my prayer, but I didn’t think that was going to be it. God wanted me to give up my senior musical.
Here’s the thing: I’ve been a part of every drama production since freshman year. If you asked what I would be doing after school every day from September to March, it would be drama. I would get home 6:00, eat dinner with my family, do dishes, and then start my 3+ hours of homework around 7:00 or 8:00. Oh, I was definitely sleep deprived. But I loved drama; I’d sacrifice some of my sanity for the sake of our productions. I loved being a costumes crew head and that fall I was on cast for the first time.
I can’t pinpoint an exact moment where things shifted – it was more like a snowball effect. My role was small – only one scene – so I wasn’t needed at rehearsal very often. I began to feel left out or uncomfortable during rehearsals, because I wasn’t making friends like everyone else. My seniors had left, and it didn’t feel the same. I didn’t feel as at home as so many of the members did. At parties, I noticed it even more. I didn’t want to admit it, but drama was slowly becoming more of an obligation than an enjoyable extracurricular.
God had also led me to join Bible Quizzing that school year. Going to quiz practice after rehearsal wasn’t too problematic until dress rehearsals began. Practice started at 6:00 and rehearsal didn’t end until 6:00, sometimes 6:30. My mom would drop off the van at school with dinner. I’d race to pick up a fellow quizzer, and while I waited for her, I scarfed down whatever my mom packed. It was stressful. I hated arriving to practice late, even though my coach told me it was fine. I’d repeat to myself: I’d only have to do this until the show was done. I could not wait. Then, I would be able to breathe.
Back to that Tuesday night. For months, I had been asking God to change my priorities if He wasn’t first in my life (note to self: don’t do that if you’re not serious).
God gave me my answer when I attended a Project 7 rally. A guy talked about how he gave up football so he could lead his P7. For the briefest second, I considered the possibility of dropping drama so I would have more time to lead mine. Yeah, right. I replaced the gentle push with excuses like, God really wouldn’t make me give up my senior musical, or something else would fill that time anyways.
I didn’t like His answer. So I ignored. I fought the lump in my throat whenever I thought about it. I dismissed missing youth and leaving church early. I avoided acknowledging the drop in my prayer time. I shrugged off that time I came home from a drama party and actually repented for simply being in the same room as some of the conversations that were happening.
After talking with my best friend, I texted my youth pastor’s wife. What she said is something I think about to this very day:
“Our hearts desire to do His will when our mind is set on Him. There are so many ‘frivolous’ things that distract us… but not when you are meant to do more.”
“Our hearts desire to do His will when our mind is set on Him. There are so many ‘frivolous’ things that distract us… but not when you are meant to do more.”
She told me I already knew what the right thing to do was; it was just a matter of whether or not I would do it. That’s when I made my decision, and my spirit was filled with a peace that can only come from the Prince of Peace Himself.
I didn’t participate in my senior musical. I survived. To be completely honest, it was for the best. Between quizzing, AP classes and everything else in my life, the musical would have been way too much. I wish I could tell you that I had so much free time that I was on top of everything and that I had control over my time, but I can’t. Time management is still something I struggle with, three years later, but my life is always so much smoother when I put God first.
It makes sense, right? Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God… Look how it says first. It doesn’t say second, or when you feel like it, or only put God first on Sundays, but first. God should always be our Number 1. The verse goes on with a promise: all these things shall be added to you. But these things, which are talked about in preceding verses, will be added if you place God first.
Placing God as our first priority takes time management. It’s hard. Even now, I’m still learning how to balance the mundane demands of daily life and solid devotion to God. Sometimes I wish I could drop all my earthly responsibilities, but that’s not how life works.
On the other hand, the Bible compares our life to a vanishing vapor (James 4:14). If our life is as transient as a vapor, why would we dare waste it on ‘frivolous’ things that don’t further the Kingdom? If we compare some of the things that consume our time – Netflix, video games, social media – to eternity, they don’t really hold up.
My purpose in sharing this isn’t to condemn you or make you feel guilty, but rather a call to action. If every person reading this lets God shape their priorities, there’s no telling what amazing things He will do – in your life, your youth group and your church. It’s not going to be easy. When God changes your priorities, it’s going to be uncomfortable. You may not like what He says you need to change, but it will be worth it.
I want to share two excerpts from Devote365, a youth devotional published by the UPCI Youth Ministries, that spoke to me during this time in my life. The first is the entry from May 26. The story for that day is about Daniel. Daniel still put God first in his life even though it could cost him his life. The devotion says, “Daniel knew that his God moved, and that if he put God first, He would move everything else into place.” This applies to us today! When we put God above everything else in our lives – school, careers, relationships, entertainment – God will move.
The second excerpt is from July 12. The title of the devotion is “God is First.” The devotion reads, “If God is our priority, we are His priority… God will always provide if we give Him priority.” In any relationship, you have to show your partner that you’re serious about them. How? By making them a priority in your life! It’s the same with God. If we genuinely are serious about living for Him, we will change our priorities. When we take a choose to say, “God is first in my life,” He notices and will reward us for it.
If we genuinely are serious about living for Him, we will change our priorities. When we take a choose to say, “God is first in my life,” He notices and will reward us for it.
I’m asking you to think about your priorities. Pray about it. Journal it. What are your top three priorities? What’s first? Is it God, or something else? Where are you investing your time, money, energy? Be honest. Examine what you could do to make God your top priority.
I often look back at this time in my life. This decision is one of the reasons I'm on the path that I am. It guides me when making other similar decisions. I thank God I learned this lesson when I did, yet it is one I have to relearn again and again.
Here’s my prayer, and I hope you make it your own: Jesus, I want to put You first. I’m used to putting other things in that place, but help me to make them second, third, or even last. I don’t want the things of this world to come in between us. Your word says You will provide when I put You first, and I believe that for my own life. Thank you, Jesus, for showing me what needs to change and for helping me make those changes. In Your name, amen!
I am so impressed by your insight. Time management is something I think we struggle with throughout our lives. Thanks for sharing what you learned to help all of us to take a step back and look at our lives. I wish I would have learned this at your age! I appreciate your perspective and will be praying your prayer!