At the end of the day when you look back on what you’ve accomplished or chosen to do with your minutes, will you say you’ve spent time doing the things that are important to you, or were you caught up in doing things that required your urgent attention?

While I’d like to say I’m diligent about scheduling my time well between the myriad of projects and demands I am responsible for, I am often guilty of wasting time on social media, reading unnecessary emails, or book shopping when I already have oodles of unlistened to/unread books on my device.

Prioritizing our activities is a vital step toward living in what’s important rather than running frantically to keep all the plates spinning. Urgency leads to living in fear of the day you’ll be too slow and one will drop.

2 Timothy 1:7 tells us, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” Living in fear is not where we should be. Our lack of self-control is often part of the problem. That’s where taking a hard look at our life priorities can help.

My Brilliant Writing Planner includes pages dedicated to this purpose. It goes deep, asking you to dig into the activities, outcomes, and thoughts that fuel you and give you inner satisfaction as well as those that bring you closer to your best self. They help you visualize what your life could look like if you prioritize based on these values, then helps you develop daily and monthly habits to keep you living for those ideals. I get no kickback from MBT, but I believe these pages are supremely helpful and bring insights I might not notice on my own. Check out the planners here and judge for yourself.

Psalm 34:4 says, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” And then, in Joshua 1:9 the Lord says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

In each of these verses fear, or rather, the lack of fear is dependent on being close to God. It stands to reason then, that in order to free ourselves of the fear that surrounds living from a place of urgency, believers should seek the Lord, find where He is moving, and join in that work. He will remain with us and keep our fears at bay.

I believe urgency comes from the enemy. If he can keep us running in circles long enough, we’ll wear down and forget or neglect our prayers, bible reading, and other daily habits that we may deem “important” but that give way to the headlong panic of “urgency.” We don’t have time to love others when we’re chasing that next spinning plate or frantic deadline or last minute preparation.

Proverbs 29:25 seems to confirm this hypothesis. “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”

We must take the time to think through our priorities, discover the values that are truly important, and live those out in order to make time for what’s important and avoid constantly chasing after what’s urgent. This may include saying “no” to good things for a season so you can focus on what’s better. It’s the Mary versus Martha idea when Jesus said Martha had chosen what was better. She took time to rest at Jesus’ feet and do what was important instead of embracing Martha’s sense of urgency to uphold the manmade standards of hospitality.

With year’s end growing ever closer, perhaps it’s time to reevaluate your values, discover what’s important, and live for those things. I know I’m going to work on my own sense of urgency, and that starts with an introspective look at the tasks I currently perform, aligning those with my important values, and cutting the ones that don’t fit.

I wish you all blessings as you contemplate your lives. May God be your continued, renewed, or new focus because without Jesus, there’s no reason to hope, and without hope, life is meaningless.