Pursuing a True and Lasting Peace: Reprioritizing Your To-Dos

By Jim Lange

Jim Lange has served as the Truth At Work Chapter President in the Toledo, Ohio area (NW Ohio and SE Michigan) since 2008. In addition to his leadership in Truth At Work, Jim also leads a coaching business for business leaders and men who are in destructive marriages. In addition, Jim is the author of the award-winning book, “Bleedership: Biblical First-Aid for Leaders”, and the best-selling books “Calming the Storm Within: How To Find Peace in This Chaotic World” and “The Happy Wife Happy Life Deception: How to Stop Walking on Eggshells and be the Man You Were Made to Be”. Jim also is a sought after speaker who talks about topics such as leadership, faith in the marketplace, finding peace and intimacy with God, biblically-based leadership, and breaking free from timidity and passivity. Jim’s background includes roles in computer programming, sales, and leadership in the Toledo area for over 30 years.

The False Peace in Accomplishing Your To-Dos

I’m a leader who teaches about the importance of intimacy with God. It’s one of my favorite topics.

Why?

Because my life has been changed through spending deep time with Him.

Yet, for the last half of 2023, I found myself in the place of prioritizing my to-dos instead of time with God.

In the middle of 2023, I sensed the Lord instructing me to increase my time of “seeking” Him… to spend more intentional time with Him. As a result, I planned to comply, and I set my mind to do just that so I made a commitment.

From that point forward it seemed that everything in the world conspired against my plans. Call it what you will, but I knew it was the enemy of my soul who wanted to keep me from time with my Father. Even though I knew this, I found myself sucked into the vortex of the urgent over the important.

On the morning of New Year’s Eve (a good six months after my commitment), my wife, Carolyn and I were discussing our struggle to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness (see Matthew 6:33). I admitted that in the past few months my desire to get stuff done often won out, and I was choosing to complete tasks on my to-do list instead of spending time with my Creator.

I then spoke the following which, though simple, was quite revelatory to me:

“When I choose to get stuff done, honestly, I am doing so mostly to try to bring peace into my life by crossing things off my to-do list. However, when I do this, I am turning down an invitation from God—who is the God of Peace, the one-and-only Author of true, everlasting peace—in order to seek after a false, temporary peace. So, in other words, I’m saying ‘No’ to real, and lasting, peace so that I may attempt to achieve a peace which is counterfeit and will not last.”

Hearing myself say this out loud sounded ridiculous.

But it was true in my life.

This was surely a ploy of the enemy that I have fallen for way too many times. I decided at that moment that this nonsense stops now! So, I spoke my declaration out loud with authority and I knew things were going to be different.

Renewed Commitment to True Peace

Beginning on New Year’s Day, I spent the first portion of my day seeking God instead of checking my emails, texts, or social media. And over an hour later, I was amazed at the change in my demeanor and level of stress. I also was shocked at how quickly the time went by.

Now, over 60 days later, this is what I’ve learned:

• Time with God usually speeds by
• I understand, and have experienced, my Father’s love for me so much more
• I enjoy Him more
• My stress levels seem lower
• I’m getting more accomplished
• My days seem to go much more smoothly
• He has revealed some incredible things to me

In addition, I’ve had some amazing things happen in my life during this month and a half. I hesitate to share this because I don’t want to seek God, nor do I want others to do so, simply for what He can do for me. But, on the other hand, Jesus does tell us in Matthew 6—after describing the things we typically worry about—to, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and He will give you all these things (the stuff we’re worried about).” Though I realize that Jesus does not give a timeline for when God will give us these things, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised about good things beginning to happen when I do seek Him – especially the good things that He does in my heart.

You may be asking, “So what do you do when you’re seeking God?” I’m glad you asked.

• I’ve spent time studying something in Scripture. I’ve been stuck for over a month on one passage (Ephesians 3:16-18). It’s remarkable the truth He is revealing to me in those three verses which has led me to pursue a new, exciting study that has been incredible.
• I’ve also spent some mornings simply asking Him what’s on His heart and then recording what I sense He is saying. Or I’ll ask Him specific questions about some life events. At other times, I’ll answer these questions with Him: What am I angry about? What am I sad about? What am I anxious about? What am I happy about? This has led to some great dialogues with God.
• In addition, sometimes I simply sit with God and receive His love with no other agenda. This sounds really strange, I know; however, it’s incredible. Sometimes I’m filled with tremendous peace and joy. Other times great ideas might come into my head. No matter what, it’s truly a joy to simply sit with Him. (Sometimes I pretend like I’m sitting on His lap which, though strange, has been a great experience for me.)
• At other times, I might read portions of a book; or listen or watch a teaching of something of importance to me. I don’t do this very often; however, I don’t want to have a lot of rules that restrict something I sense He wants me to do with Him.

Obstacles to Our Pursuit of Peace

A question worth considering is: If spending time with God is so critical, why do so many other things come up which make us feel that time with the Lord isn’t possible?

Consider that:

• We have an enemy who knows the power of being in God’s presence, so he’ll do anything to keep us from that time.
• Many of us have a fear of losing control. Control may be one of the primary descriptors of our walk with Jesus. In a way, God gave us a level of control, in the form of free-will. Then He asks us to give it back to Him out of our love for Him. This is often difficult for a leader to do.
• The most common obstacle may be between our ears… our thoughts: I have too much to do. I don’t know how to do it. I’m too tired. It sounds so boring. Does God really want to be with me? Does He really care if I spend time with Him? Will God really hear me? I’ve done this before and I didn’t notice any difference! I want to stay in control! I have a hard time believing this is worth my time! Do any of these thoughts sound familiar?

These types of thoughts can certainly come from our enemy, but we’re pretty good at coming up with them on our own, too. The underlying issue that causes these thoughts to bubble up in our minds is one word: trust. Many of us have a hard time trusting that God will do the things He promises, especially those things that run contrary to all the leadership teachings we’ve ever heard. I mean really, can He:

• Provide for us while we sleep? (See Psalm 127:2)
• Give us rest when we have a boatload of burdens, worries and concerns? (See Matthew 11:28)
• Grant us peace which surpasses all understanding? (See Philippians 4:6-7)

The answer to each of the above bulleted questions is: Yes, but it’s often so difficult for us as business and ministry leaders to trust these things to be true. Some of the reasons for our lack trust could be:

• We are much more comfortable when we feel in control.
• We may not want to look foolish by appearing to take our hand off the wheel of our organization.
• We feel we need to set an example, not appear lazy, or be always “on the job”.
• We believe that the speed of the team is dictated by the speed of the leader.

I’d like to propose that, perhaps the number one reason we don’t trust God is that we really don’t know Him as well as we think we do. After all, how can we trust someone we don’t know?

So, getting to know God can lead us to the benefits listed in the previous section and would help us to strengthen our trust, which would give us the desire to want to spend more time with Him! When we know Him to be faithful, we are more likely to be ready to prioritize time with Him instead of the to-dos on our list. We might even reach a point where we don’t know how to accomplish our to-dos without first spending time connecting with Him… because He shapes the to-do list!

Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve True, Lasting Peace

To overcome these roadblocks to spending time in God’s presence, we can follow Jesus’ example and make a decision to do as Jesus commands: Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (see Matthew 6:33)… and then simply begin. Here are a couple of other suggestions which are highly recommended:

• Community – Become a member of a community of like-minded believers who can encourage you and hold you accountable. Often, when beginning something new, you need external structure, motivation, and encouragement.
• Prayer – Ask God to free you and to give you a heart that desires more of Him (don’t worry, you won’t be telling Him anything He doesn’t already know). Also, ask Him to give you a greater desire to know His Word. Knowing His Word helps you to know what truth is, and even more importantly to know the Author of truth, His heart, His character and how much He loves you. In addition, His Word is a weapon (see Ephesians 6:17) which Jesus used in the wilderness to combat Satan (see Matthew 4:1-11).
• Practice – An intimate relationship does not just happen immediately, but over time. Your relationship with God may develop more slowly than you like, but it can mature over time.

I encourage you to seek your Heavenly Father first. Before you open your email, your texts, and especially before you check in with your favorite social media apps. You will be better for it which will make others around you better!

Free Resource

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