It was a busy week, and I had a lot of clothes to pack. But this was an easy task for me because I had thoroughly organized my packing technique. I gave a lot of thought to it. I took all of the resources at hand there in my closet, thought it through, put it all together in a meaningful, functional relationship, and got my clothes into one bag.
Now, my wife, on the other hand, came in from prayer, hadn't thought a moment about what she wanted to take, and she ended up packing fourteen bags. She took everything!
Instead of thinking about what she needed to wear before hand, she took everything in her closet so she could decide what to wear when she got there. She claims that her way is good because she doesn't ever forget anything. (How could she? She takes everything!)
The point is you organize what you think about. What you give your thought life to is the area you'll be organized in, because organization is first of all a mental process.
Have you ever noticed that there are many things you don't like to think about? Usually, those are the areas in your life that have gotten complicated.
For instance, if there's a relationship that's become complex, perhaps due to anger and contention, chances are you need to give some thought to the source of the problem. Ask yourself, "Where is this conflict coming from?"
That's not always a pleasant thing to think about. However, when there's a problem area in your life, you need to spend time meditating and thinking about godly solutions, letting God show you how to better manage that problem. Instead of neglecting those areas that most need it, you should get God involved and find a solution. Then begin to properly manage the neglected areas.
Another thing people usually don't like to think about are financial problems. When someone gets into a financial mess, when creditors begin calling and bills begin piling up, it's often easier to just ignore the debt, the bills, and the creditors, but that's not wise.
We don't like to think about such things, but that's exactly what we need to meditate on and pray about in the Holy Spirit, then ask God to give us a plan that will solve the problem.
On the other hand, those things we like to think about are usually the things in which we are most organized.
Take my wife's prayer ministry, for example. She has organized that group down to the gnat's eyebrow, because she loves to think about it!
When it comes to my flying (I'm a pilot with a background in the Air Force and the aviation industry), I'm thoroughly organized. I don't go up in an airplane without getting all my stuff together first. I enjoy planning a trip; therefore, I'm very organized about it.
Do you see the link between thought and organization? The things we think about most are the areas where we're the most organized, the most functional, the most simplified, and running the smoothest. The areas to which we give little thought, planning, and prayer are the areas where our lives become complicated and stressful.
God wants us to use our brains, but He also wants us to use His. It's a partnership, and He's here to help us simplify our problem areas.
Excerpt permission granted by Mac Hammond Ministries
Mac Hammond is the senior pastor of Living Word, a large and growing church in Brooklyn Park (a suburb of Minneapolis), Minnesota. He is the host of the Winner’s Minute, which is seen locally in the Minneapolis area on KMSP Channel 9 at 6:44 a.m. and 11:11 a.m. He is also the host of the Winner's Way broadcast and author of several internationally distributed books. Mac is broadly acclaimed for his ability to apply the principles of the Bible to practical situations and the challenges of daily living.
