ESTABLISH YOUR PRIORITIES

"E" is the final letter in the Shine Like Stars devotionals. It stands for "Establish Your Priorities." Let’s talk about priorities. You will see a list of priorities below. Take a minute to put these in order. 1 is your highest priority - 13 your lowest.

____ Relationships/Friendships _____ Finances
____ Job _____ School
____ Appearance _____ God
____ Recreation/Pleasure _____ Family
____ Worship/Church _____ Volunteering
____ Material Things/Possessions _____ Exercise/Health
____ Other: ____________________

If you are like me, after you’ve finished your priority list, you feel guilty about some of them. You may want to put God first, but sometimes, deep down, you know how often you’ve failed to put Him first.

Well, I want to tell you that this list is misleading, but for a purpose. For years I struggled with how to keep God first in my life, but still do all of the other things I needed to do. You may feel that way, too.

Now think about the priorities in your life. All of your priorities will fall into these categories: God, Self, Family/Friends, Church, Work/School, World (car, home, etc. material possessions, but needed possessions). Now think about an image of a star. Imagine putting one group of priorities at each point of the star.

Now, where should God be in your star? IN THE CENTER!! He should be the center of everything. He is not ONE of the priorities, he is THE priority. Everything else should be balanced around God. You can serve God while taking care of church work, your physical work/job, school/college, your friends and your families, your self, and the things of the world for which we are responsible.

God wants to be a part of your everyday life - each and every day!

POINTS TO PONDER:
God wants to be with you as you plan for your future.
God wants to be with you in all of our relationships, causing them to flourish.
God desires to work along beside you.
God wants you to include Him in all of your decisions - from your appearance to your finances.
God loves joining you with your friends and our family, but also in your quiet times of solitude.
God wants to be the focus of your worship and in all of your acts of service as you follow in Jesus’ footsteps.
God wants to help you make decisions in all aspects of our life, from big decisions to little decisions.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:
What do your friends see as priorities in your life?
What does your family see as the priorities in your life?
Most importantly, what does God see as priorities in your life?

Use every day of your life to SHINE LIKE STARS. The dark world needs you!

Have a great day!