(This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s message: Win the Day…Eat the Frog – LISTEN HERE)
Outside our front door we have a small fish pond off the front porch. Every spring…like now…frogs come to mate in our pond. They are LOUD, but then it quiets and a bit later we have a pond full of tadpoles.
Never once have I been tempted to eat one. (Although I have tried frog legs).
Eating a live frog is not appealing in any way to me. My guess is, you are the same.
Our theme this week is not about eating a live frog, but putting key things first in our day.
Mark Twain is proposed to have said, “If you have to eat a live frog, it’s best done at the beginning of the day.”
Brian Tracy, a personal growth guru, seized on this sentence and wrote a book by the title Eat the Frog advancing 21 habits that end procrastination and increase productivity.
The phrase is catchy and memorable.
My prayer is it reminds us to put the important things first in our day…even if at times it is not our favorite.
What is that first thing?
Jesus taught it in Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
The reality is every day…today included, we are tempted to jump right into the “to-do” list of the day. Get ready for work. Get the kids off to school. Pick up a prescription. Do the laundry. Pay the bills. And the list goes on until the day ends and we flop into bed exhausted, only to start over the next day.
We regret no spending time with the Lord and his Word, but make a shallow personal commitment to get it started the next day. (Only to realize another day passes without that reality happening.)
But this morning is not to spur guilt over the past, but to encourage a new habit to begin today.
You’re reading this devotion, so good job!
What Jesus teaches in Matthew 6 points out the energy and effort we often put into chasing after things that are temporary and worrying about things that are out of our control. We exhaust our efforts to calm our worries in a way that leaves us with shallow relief.
Jesus says, “Eat the Frog.” (Ok, not really, but…) He encourages us to put him first in the day. “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.”
What does that mean? Put God first.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:30)
This is not an easy focus, but it is a necessary focus. It is not always our habit, but a habit worth developing.
Apply: What reflections do you have of the blessing of putting time with the Lord first versus times when you have missed that opportunity?
Prayer: Lord, help us to put you first in our day by spending a little time with you. Forgive us for the days we have forgotten or neglected this priority. In your grace and power, help us to develop a daily habit of spending time with you.