Nehemiah 1:5 And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,
Staying focused on your priorities is a very important part of leadership. If you are a leader, you are busy. Your calendar gets full fast, you have many to do lists, you are ambitious, and you want to accomplish great things…you are a leader! With this drive in my own life, I have many things going on all at once and this is why I love my smart phone. It helps me schedule, send email, listen to podcasts, make notes, and the million other apps I love to use including social media. The biggest help on the phone is the reminder. I often fill my calendar full and tend to forget the little details so I have the calendar alert me of my next appointments and my priorities. I find myself looking at my calendar often so I can see how I should spend my time next and what to make a priority. This helps me focus. This will help you.
Just as I look to my calendar to remind myself of my priorities, I must also look to God’s Word and spend time praying to remind myself of His plan. This can be hard when there are long to do lists, people to get back to, projects to finish and the million other urgent things pressing on me for the day; but I find myself actually leading better if I stay focused and putting my priorities first. Just because something is urgent and pressing doesn’t necessarily mean it is the most important thing at that moment. Nehemiah just received the urgent information about Israel and how the walls where broken. He could have done a million things to just start the process to fix the situation, but we see Him praying and reminding Himself of who God is.
I don’t want to lose sight of God in my life for the “urgent” things that consume my day. I tend to be so caught up in a situation that it consumes me, and I try to get things done. Although this can be helpful at times, God want us to make sure we have perspective. To base our life on His Word and promises (2 Pet 1:3-4) so that way we can prioritize the way we spend our time. I have to be reminded often of what really is important. I don’t want to lose sight that their is a God who made the Heavens. That nothing is impossible with Him. That He calls me to do great things for His kingdom and has good plans for me. That He keeps His covenants and is faithful. That He is for me and loves me. And that He loves you.
I find the most important part of my day as a leader is not spending my time on the urgent matters of the day or even checking my to do list off BUT the part where I spend time with God. When I am able to do this, I am reminded of His truth and He helps me focus on my priorities, my time, and my life. When I remind myself of who He is and His love for me, it helps me. When I can spend time with Him, I find myself handling whatever pressing issue that comes up for the day a lot more graciously because I have persecutive. His perspective. I even go back through the day reminding myself that this great and amazing God is with me. This helps me lead better. This will help you lead better. I must continually remind myself of who God is. When do you remind yourself of who God is?