It doesn't take the proverbial "rocket scientist" to work out that you are never going to be able to do everything in any given day or year, or for that matter, in your lifetime. There is no shortage of "self-help" and coaching books to help you set goals, develop life strategies and tactics, separate the urgent from the important, and work out what you want written on your tombstone.

The fact that Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life is a top seller even on secular booklists is evidence of a widespread and deeply felt need to make some sort of sense out of the bewildering array of choices and options that face us every minute of every day in this frenetic, information and technology-driven modern world. Christian or not, there is a universal sense of frustration in knowing what to do, when to do it, and why.

It is, after all, the need to set priorities in our lives. If it is self-evident that we can't do everything, then how do we decide what to do out of the many options available? Most of the "truisms" are of course true—"the urgent is rarely important, and the important is rarely urgent" and so on. And not too many things are both urgent AND important.

As Steven Curtis Chapman sings in his "Land of Opportunity" (based on Eph. 5:15-16 and Matt. 6:25-34):

This is a world full of options
It's like a never-ending buffet line
While all that I'm really needing
Is Living Water and the Bread of Life

So as I'm walking through this life making choices
There is one thing I must never forget
This land of opportunity has one God
If I seek Him first He'll take care of the rest.

Finding God's Purpose

As in every area of the Christian walk, the answers to all the great questions of life are set out clearly and unambiguously in the "Life Instruction Book," the Holy Bible, written for us by our Creator. Christians do not ever need to be plagued by confusion and uncertainty as to our options and priorities—it is all set down for us if we take the time to read it.

God gives us a purpose in life, an overarching goal that is like a compass to guide us in setting our priorities. He spells it out very clearly in Matthew 6:33: "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

Seeking the Kingdom of God must come FIRST, before and above everything else. This Kingdom has a King and His name is Jesus Christ—King of kings and Lord of lords. And He has sent His Holy Spirit into our hearts to give us the wisdom and power to make the right choices.

It is only through the Holy Spirit—our Counselor and Guide—that we can know our true and divine purpose, and set our priorities correctly. There are two sides to it: ours and God's. Our job is to "seek," and His job is to give us "all these things" like wisdom, righteousness, our physical and financial needs, indeed "all things pertaining to life and godliness."

The Apostle Paul, arguably the most successful Christian in all of history, also put it very simply: "This ONE thing I do ... I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:13 and 14). Notice that both Matthew and Paul understand God's Law of Priority—there is a "first" and there is a "one."

As John C. Maxwell says in a note in his Maxwell Leadership Bible, "Paul narrowed his wedge and his focus to the essentials ... Christ became his solitary pursuit ... with single-minded passion, Paul forgot the past and pursued the prize of his call.

"Once Paul had determined his life mission, that purpose daily improved his attitude ... He understood that leaders can either surrender to their circumstances, or they can surrender to a cause that is so great, their circumstances won't matter."

Life's Priorities

We all feel so much stress, whether it be from the latest headlines about terrorism or natural disasters, or from relationship pressures, or from the daily grind of competing in the marketplace to earn a living. Whether you are a global CEO or a housewife, a rocket scientist or a street-sweeper, it doesn't matter. The stress is the same.

Jim Davis in a Practical Christianity article "Redeeming the Time," puts it this way: "It seems to me that many of God's people live with too much stress. We get over-committed and lose sight of what it is that we need to pursue. We redeem the time and walk wisely (Eph. 5:15 , 16) when we understand the will of the Lord.

"We set our priorities and balance those priorities in the light of God's Word. It is a learning experience. It is a venture of faith in God. It is a quest for the eternal things in the temporal moments that God has ordained for us.

"When Jesus came in the flesh, He did not heal everyone. He did not see everything. He did not travel to every country nor try to minister to every person. And neither should we. We must learn to live our lives in the light of God's sovereignty.

"When we order our priorities properly, there should be a place for the urgent, the important and the necessary things in our lives ... Considering how we walk is often a choice between better and best, instead of wrong or right. There is discipline involved in walking wisely.

"Those who walk wisely have well-defined priorities. They learn to say NO to activities that create any extended imbalance in those priorities."

And as John Maxwell adds, Paul never drifted from his correct priorities because he had a mission and a purpose. He says:

• A purpose will motivate you.
• A purpose will keep your priorities straight.
• A purpose will develop your potential.
• A purpose will give you power to live in the present.
• A purpose will help you evaluate your progress.

The One Thing

Jesus Himself teaches us that there is an overriding priority in life, and that is to seek Him. In the story about Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42, Jesus tells Martha to stop fussing about the trivial things of life, even if they seem urgent (as they did to the ever-busy Martha), and to follow the example of her sister Mary, who was sitting at Jesus' feet. He says very bluntly, "But ONE thing is needed ..." There it is again—the "ONE."

King Solomon is a good example of someone trying to do too many things at once. John Maxwell points out that in the second chapter of Ecclesiastes alone, he is chasing no fewer than eight goals!

• He pursued too many things in too short a time.
• He pursued the wrong goals to reach his desired outcome.
• His self-serving goals were all wrong.
• He despaired because he never identified what he really wanted.

"When you say 'yes' to an opportunity, get ready to focus. Make to-do lists. Set your priorities. Avoid clutter. Pursue excellence, but avoid perfectionism. Question everything. Work to prevent procrastination. Control interruptions and distractions. Use the calendar. Narrow your wedge—don't try to do everything. That means you'll have to say 'no' to some good things."

Pastor Rice Broocks, Senior Minister of the Every Nation Family of Churches, put it this way in a recent sermon: "We need to figure out what God created us for, what our greater purpose is. Jesus said: 'Seek My Kingdom first—put My priority first—and all these other things will be added.' We all have our own agendas, but God says to put His agenda first; to trust Him, and not lean on our own understanding."

In the Book of Isaiah, God tells us that we will hear a voice behind us, saying: "This is THE way—walk in it" (Is. 30: 21). God speaks to us through His Holy Spirit, and promises us that if we listen to Him, we will be shown "THE way." Not the comfortable way, not the convenient way, not the way that feels best or the way that is quick and easy, but HIS way.

This is the purpose and the priority in our life: the ONE thing, the FIRST thing, HIS thing. It is not hard to hear God for His will and purpose in our life, but it does mean we have to get quiet before Him, pray, and take the time to listen to His Voice.

We must take the time to read His Word, which is a lamp and a light to our path ahead in life (Ps. 119:105). Psalm 32:8 says, "I will instruct you and teach you in THE way you should go; I will guide you with My eye."

Steven Curtis Chapman concludes:

Seek ye first the kingdom of God
So many choices, so much it could be
Seek ye first the kingdom of God
Living in the land of opportunity.