Opportunities and Priorities in the Midst of Busyness

I’ve been getting very busy lately; preparing for presentations, preparing for a workshop in CF, and doing my research at the same time. I was just reminded yesterday that I am supposed to lead the Bible study on Joel 2 next Monday. But somehow, the past week has been a week of opportunities. I have had so many opportunities to serve others, to engage in conversations, to help others, and to give. The strange thing is that I find myself having more of such opportunities now than when I was the president in the CF and a student. Now that I do not have to worry so much about the CF activities, I can just focus on the people, which is what I’ve always loved to do. And since I do not have to study for exams anymore, I’ve had more time to chat with friends and get involved in the lives of others. That’s strange. It must be the nature of my work, since most people complain about having less time once they start working. I thank God for all these opportunities, as well as for the people around me.

I conducted the workshop on ‘Priorities of a Student’ in CF. Some of the preparations were really done last minute, and I wonder if they got the wrong person to speak on this topic! We did a life-check to look at the relationships, roles, responsibilities and activities in our lives. I shared on a few misconceptions that we Christians have about life; where we sometimes equate God with church activities; where we divide our activities into the spiritual and secular; and how setting priorities are not really as simple, clear and rigid as we think it is. We then broke ourselves into groups for discussion and role-play. I gave each group a scenario in which they had to make decisions where priorities would be involved. I closed the session with a reading of Psalm 90, and pointed out a few things that we could keep in mind when setting priorities; the sovereignty of God and looking at how we fit into God’s story, learning to number our days, asking God for wisdom, as well as letting God be involved in whatever we do. So that is what I prepared and did. These are my five loaves and 2 fishes. I give it to God and let Him do whatever He wants with it (I actually told Him that before the session!). May He continue to do the work in the lives of these student friends of mine!

But during the preparation, when I thought about the recent opportunities that God gave to me, I was reminded about how opportunities can sometimes override our priorities; that sometimes, opportunities will arise that we need to grab hold of, because they may never come again. This lesson appeared in one of the points I shared during the workshop. I’m glad I took the recent opportunities to share the gospel with a friend, help others, and listen to others even in the midst of being caught up with more important priorities.

Lord, help me to be sensitive to Your Spirit. I know that I have failed you many times before when I have turned down opportunities like these to serve others. Help me to be aware of these opportunities in the future. Help me to resist turning them down because of busyness, like the priest and Levite who walked by in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Help me to learn to help people not only when it is convenient for me. Thank you. All glory be unto You. Amen!