What You Prioritize Today Will Shape Your Life More Than You Think

There is no ordinary day. Even the most habitual, organized person encounters unforeseen emotions, interruptions, and conflicts so that no one day can represent a person’s life as a whole. And while the events and circumstances change from day to day, one aspect of life we can intentionally name and cling to is our set of priorities.

For four years, I worked in a job I disliked. Despite the professional environment and lovely people, I felt unfulfilled spending my days on work I didn’t enjoy. I stayed because I had set my priority on achieving success whatever the cost. Working overtime and traveling often for meetings, I checked all the boxes and met expectations, but my heart wasn’t in it. I desperately wanted to succeed, but after four years, I was exhausted from keeping up the façade.

Is that how we sometimes approach our spiritual lives too? Is our priority set on knowing God or set on some version of spiritual success?

Maybe you can relate. Perhaps you meet the expectations of your church and tick off your quiet time to-do list, but your heart isn’t in it.

We all pass through dry seasons, but I wonder if some of us have set up camp in the desert believing a lack of rain is the norm.

How do we establish God as our priority so that our hearts are invested, our actions aligned with our beliefs, and our devotion motivated by love and desire rather than fear and obligation? If this question resonates with you, then I think you’ll find encouragement and wisdom in Paul’s words from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Paul’s Priority

First, Paul encourages his readers to “not lose heart.” He urges us to not give up, to not lose sight of what truly matters.

The priority in my former job, achieving success, could not sustain me when I felt discouraged and drained. It held allure, but its rewards were exclusively external in the forms of recognition and pay raises. Achieving success had no power to encourage and transform my heart.

Devotion to God is different because he offers transformation for our insides and delivers a promise of hope greater than anything this world can offer.

Outer Self vs. Inner Self

The “outer self” in this passage may represent the physical body or our sinful nature which is still present but “wasting away” as our inner self becomes more and more like Christ through sanctification. Following Jesus does not come without cost, but the more we know him, the more we want to know him. The cost seems as nothing compared with that privilege.

When we prioritize knowing God and exalting the gospel in our lives, our inner self finds refreshment and strength. Sometimes we see impoverished, suffering Christians display the most joy. In those cases we’re watching the inner life, transformed by Jesus, spill out to shape their choices and reactions. The inner self, where we secretly know what we treasure and prioritize, shows up in our language and choices.

Light Momentary Affliction vs. Eternal Weight of Glory

I’ve entered conversations about the insignificance of our troubles compared to what is coming in eternity, only to remember a beat too late the particular hardship or suffering the person has encountered in her life. Knowing what grief and trauma people encounter, we may shy away from making light of it as we compare it to our eternal reality.

Paul experienced extraordinary suffering and yet he emphasizes the greater weight of our eternal glory. He calls our afflictions light not because they feel light and not because God doesn’t understand the depths of our wounds but because he wants to explain a concept our human imaginations can fail to grasp—whatever heavy, burdensome baggage we carry doesn’t weigh as much as the eternal glory waiting for us in the presence of Jesus. Even if we can’t understand how this can be, we can trust that his words are true.

Whatever heavy, burdensome baggage we carry doesn’t weigh as much as the eternal glory waiting for us in the presence of Jesus. #2Corinthians417 #NotHomeYet Click To Tweet

Seen Things vs. Unseen Things

Paul explains how the physical world we understand through our eyes is transient, and the things that last forever are the ones we cannot see. We cannot see God, people’s souls, heaven, or the spiritual reality that exists around us right now. Those are the most important elements, the ones that deserve our attention and resources because nothing else will last.

What are we prioritizing today? Our physical bodies, sinful desires, hurts, wounds, and the physical world around us? Or our renewed spirit, the waiting eternal glory to come, and the unseen, spiritual elements?

We can always postpone a to-do item, reschedule a meeting, or rearrange our lives. The “seen” components are unstable and ever-changing, but the “unseen” elements—the longing of our hearts, our connection with the Father, and the future with him we prize above all else—these determine how we respond to daily troubles and joys.

A Prayer to Close

My prayer for you today, reader, is that you allow God to examine your heart and reveal your priorities. Ask him to help you see what you value and in what areas he wants to captivate your heart. It’s not up to you to change yourself. In fact, it’s not possible. Seek God in his Word and in prayer allowing him to realign your values and desires.

Heavenly Father,

It’s so easy to become wrapped up in the details of life. Thank you for your Word which encourages us to not lose heart. Help us see our lives from your perspective. Shape our hearts and minds to be more like yours. Realign our priorities and help us to focus on the eternal joy of existing in your presence forever.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen.