Word of the Week - Order
“For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. But all things should be done decently and in order”. 1 Corinthians 14:33,40
What is Order – Order is the organized arrangement of things with an emphasis on prioritizing things by putting first things first. When things are ordered there is more clarity and peace. When things are out of order (disordered), there is typically more confusion and strife. All aspects of life are simply better and more productive when things are in good order. Order increases productivity and success and disorder typically causes inefficiency and hinders success and progress. It is a very simple concept that many struggle to grasp and most struggle to live day to day. For some reason, many of us gravitate towards disorder.
Our God is a God of Order – Throughout the Bible, we see how much God values order. Within the wonder and mystery of creation is order. God has a master plan that is ordered. Our salvation through the blood of Jesus was pre-planned by God. 1 Peter 1:20 tells us that “Jesus was chosen before creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for our sake”. Before the prophet Jeremiah was even born, God had a plan for his life. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 We see order throughout the scripture with Noah’s instructions to build the ark to Solomons amazing temple construction to how Jesus ordered and prioritized His days. Our God is a God of order, and we can greatly benefit by taking notice and organizing our lives in order.
Why should we increase Order in our lives - First and foremost is the reality that we will spend our time and energy on what we prioritize. The big rock principle is key to living a purposeful life and fulfilling our God given potential. We must take time to determine what we believe to be the most important things in our lives and allocate the proper amount of time and energy to those things relative to other things. If we are not intentional then we will not have order and not prioritize the big rocks. Stephen Covey calls this “Putting First things First”. In the digital age of smart phones if you do not have clarity on your priorities, you can easily waste your time and possibly your life on things that don’t have meaning or significance. Secondly, order brings success both personally and professionally. Order puts things in the proper place and eliminates wasting time. Order increases wealth, favor, success, happiness, self-esteem, self-worth, productivity and promotes excellence. Order simply creates an environment for us to be healthy and flourish.
With Divine Order comes Diving Blessing – If we prioritize God and make Him our “First Fruit”, we will live in His blessing. He makes it clear that He desires to be the First in every area of our lives. The first commandment says “You shall have no other gods before me”. Exodus 20:3 And God promises us that if we make Him the priority then He will bless us. “But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33 I love this principal because it is very simple and easy to understand. I call it a “Boudreaux” principle. God simply desires to be the first Priority in our lives. I am fully convinced based on my life’s experience that if we put God first and make Him the highest priority, we will be blessed and enjoy the fruits of His spirit. There is no doubt that order begets blessing both in the spiritual and in the natural.
And there are even more benefits to living with Order – “My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands (order for living); For length of days and long life and peace will add to you” Proverbs 3:1-2
Length of Days – Each of us have exactly the same length of a day (24 hours or 1440 minutes or 86,400 seconds) so why does this verse say God will increase the length of your days? When your life is in order, you increase your efficiency and productivity, which gives you more time, margin, and better quality of life.
Long Life – By following God’s laws, you increase your time on earth. And orderly and disciplined approach to life and health will improve our quality and quantity of life. Things like exercise, healthy eating, good sleep and adequate rest will typically allow us to live longer.
Peace – An increase in order will decrease stress and increase peace, contentment, and tranquility. Life is simply better when things are in order.
Overcoming – There are many problems and challenges in life much of what are out of our control. Order minimizes self-imposed challenges so we can use our energy to deal with the challenges we will face in life. This is referred to in the bible as being an overcomer.
Financial success – An ordered life attracts and increase financial success. We must put things in order to be good stewards and when we are, we are blessed and entrusted with more. This typically creates an opportunity to be more generous in all areas of life, which also begets more blessing.
Order brings relational capacity and increases our influence.
I pray we will seek the Lord and ask Him to order our lives in a way that will make the biggest impact for His Kingdom.
Have a great week!!