Sometimes in our lives we find ourselves unsure about what we need to focus on. Thankfully, we have a good Shepherd who's voice we know and can follow. Often, because of all the noise of life, we stop listening. Noise is usually made up morally neutral things that aren't bad or good, they just drown out the Shepherd's voice. I have learned there are three primary areas of my life I need to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd everyday.
Personal
Marriage/Family
Mission
Personally I need to be hearing God's Word for my own life. Not for the life of my wife, kids, or message I am preparing. I need the gentle specific and precise words of the Savior carrying me on. My self-sufficiency will always take over and ruin me until I seek to find my strength in the Lord.
In my marriage and family I am called to lead by feeding, protecting, knowing my family. Feeding looks like giving solid practical counsel. Toby asked me how to ride a bike, so heck yes I am going to do my best to show him how. I must protect them by looking out ahead and thinking about their needs. Is Chase going to need to sit this one out because when he gets too tired he starts to breakdown etc. You must know them to shepherd them. Do you know what your husband or wife is currently struggling with? Do you know how each of your kids are uniquely wired and how to gospel them individually.
Mission- We are all gifted by God for the work of the ministry of building up the body of Christ. Many people sadly have their personal time with the Lord and love their family yet they never see their family as the Lord's. Instead family becomes the core of ambition and success rather than the tool of a calling. The other extreme is to focus on mission at the expending your family to a toxic level. 1 Timothy 3 gives us the qualifications of leaders in the church. They are to manage their own households well, because if they can't manage their own house how can they manage the church properly (this includes hospitality to outsiders 1 Tim.3:2). Perhaps you are a family going through a busy stretching season of new babies and tiredness. Your mission becomes your marriage. Many guys really want to be on mission for the Lord but need to see the mission starts with their wives and children. This is both scriptural and practical. 1 Timothy 3.
I digress to make a linear flow of priorities but here's what it would look like.
Personal Abiding in Jesus
Marriage
Family
Mission
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