Hey, do you ever feel like you are juggling matters in life? I promise you I feel that way more than not. Is it bad? No, because it is necessary. It is necessary in order to meet the demands of normal life. What I have found is that what I juggle has changed through the years.

In my first few years of marriage, I juggled college and seminary, with pastoring, and the development of a relationship with Jeana. When I entered the Doctoral level of education, I continued to have to juggle that, church, and Jeana; however, Josh came along and then Nick. When the doctorate was completed, the churches got bigger, the children were preschoolers, and of course, there was Jeana. As the churches got bigger with more staff and stuff, the children and their needs increased, outside ministry venues and book opportunities began to open up, and then there was Jeana. The day came when the boys were gone, but they got married, then had a child, the church developed two locations, the church, staff, and stuff grew, the outside opportunities I negated most of them, and yes, then there was Jeana. Yes, the juggle seems to increase around me continually, but what I juggle changes along the way.

Can you identify with any of this? To be juggle-free, is to be dead. Therefore, do not desire to be free from “the juggle” in life. The juggle will always be there. There will always be various matters you have to juggle. When challenges occur or loss or disappointment, then the juggle increases, sometime in number and at other times in intensity.

At whatever point you are in life, the juggle will always come down to one thing … Priorities! What is the most important thing daily? What needs to be the most pressing matter now? What do I need to do versus what do I want to do?  Be very careful to ever determine the juggle by anything other than God-established Priorities in His Word. If you will, one of three things will happen. First, you will drop matters becoming neglectful of the most important.  Secondly, you will just shut-down because you are very weary of the juggle. Thirdly, you will juggle and do it well, but not God’s way. Most have had to become “juggle artists” in our culture, but most do not do it God’s way.

The Secret to the Juggle is found in your God-established Priorities. What should they be? Perhaps the following will help you determine the juggle right now.

1. Your personal relationship to Jesus Christ … never let it be sacrificed for anything or anyone.
2. Your family relationships … yet be careful to not abuse all in “the name of family.”
3. Your church family … #1 and #3 are so tightly connected, you had better be very careful letting your #2 get in the way of either; if so, you are in a danger zone.
4. Your job … be very careful here … Life is about the Kingdom of God and its advancement, not about you, your career, your job and its advancement … your job is a tool in the hand of God to let you mobilize to expand His Kingdom as well as a way to assist you in the basic needs of life.
5. Your recreation … keep in perspective … in this day of “play” … this part of the juggle has become the most dominant and destructive to the above four … again, be very careful.

Juggle God’s way … by His Priorities for you.