Recovery Devotional 348 Unfinished Business

JMD Devotional 348 Esther 6:1-3 Unfinished Business

ON THAT night the king could not sleep; and he ordered that the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, be brought, and they were read before the king. And it was found written there how Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's attendants who guarded the door, who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus (to slay him). And the king said, What honor or distinction has been given Mordecai for this? Then the king's servants who ministered to him said, Nothing has been done for him.

Our Twentieth Century lives are so full of demands, activity and distraction that our days can feel like a raging white-water river and we are simply doing all we can to avoid being dashed upon the rocks as we are pushed forward. However, in order to sleep, we need to clear our minds and drift into tranquility for consciousness to disengage. I, like many people today, often find this very difficult: sleep eludes me. As the pandemonium of the day quiets down, issues surface that were important; but were pushed aside by the tyranny of lesser, but *urgent things. Sometimes I do sleep for a while; but unfinished business wakes me up. The big things in life like the spiritual welfare of our family, our witness in the world, neglected souls within our reach, good deeds unrewarded and unacknowledged finally surface: having been held down by mundane business all day. I keep a pad of paper beside my bed; for when my mind is quiet, God speaks to me of unfinished business; and His instruction would be lost without writing it down. To get the important things done, they need to be recorded, a priority should be set upon them, they ought to be planned and you must sacrifice lesser activities to make room for them. Diligence here will not only help you sleep better; but will ensure ending up with much less unfinished business.

Dear God,

Remind me of promises that I have not kept, of duties that I have neglected, of souls within reach that need my help. Empower me to address what is most important; give me a clear vision of what these things are. For Your kingdom and glory.

Amen

*”Tyranny of the Urgent”, a great Intervarsity Press tract.

All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by

the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

*New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)

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