I used to easily get through my week without the aid of a calendar. Not the case anymore! It might be my age or the deluge of projects, but I need help keeping my appointments – or something falls through the cracks.

There are family responsibilities, work responsibilities, recreational options, educational opportunities, spiritual disciplines, and on and on. It can get overwhelming. Am I spending too much time at work? Not enough? Investing in my family? Getting enough rest? Did I change the oil in the car? When was the last time I remembered to floss?

It's tempting to compartmentalize the areas of my life to keep it all straight. I block off “work” time, date nights, vacation, etc. Moving from one area to the next. Unfortunately, we tend to do this with our faith too. We compartmentalize, or set aside our spiritual life for Sunday morning or an hour here or there when we find time to pray.

It’s like life is a big dresser with many drawers. Faith in one drawer, family concerns in another, recreation in one, and work in another. Maybe the drawers are different sizes... maybe one is messy, one neat, one mostly empty, and still another overflowing.

It’s normal to think that the proper way forward is to prioritize the 'faith drawer' on the top – with other parts of life below in descending order. Like Jesus said in Matthew 6, “Seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

But the older I get, the more I realize the dangers of compartmentalizing my faith. The way God sees it (and we should too) is that faith is not a drawer in the dresser; it is the dresser itself!

The dresser holds everything in place. It is the very framework for the various parts of our existence. It puts the drawers in proper order, and determines what's in – and not in – the drawers.

When we give our lives to God, He sets the priorities. Instead of being compartmentalized, our relationship with God PERMEATES every area, every thought, every interaction and effort. God is concerned with it all: our vocation, our families, our free time, our finances, and all that matters to us.

Start your day by asking God to set the agenda. He is FOR you. Seek first what He has planned.

God bless you!

Gary