Jesus At The Center

By Jamie Kent

Just this last week, I had to learn this lesson the hard way: I had taken God out of the center of my work, and I became unfocused, lazy, and lackluster in what I was doing. I had let some important information slip through the cracks, and it caused a snowball effect for the rest of the week. Realizing my error, I tried to correct the problem—only to make it worse because I was working in my own strength, not God’s. Later in the week, I was teaching this exact lesson to my Wednesday Night Discipleship class, and as I was teaching, I felt the Holy Spirit whisper to me, “Why did you take Me out of your work? You just told your class to keep Me at the center, so why didn’t you?” In that moment, I didn’t know how to answer; in fact, I didn’t have an answer. It took some time in honest prayer before the Lord to understand and truly respond to that question.

That moment reminded me how quickly life can slip out of balance when God isn’t at the center. We don’t always do it intentionally—sometimes it happens subtly, buried beneath our routines and responsibilities. Before we know it, we’re trying to manage life like a list, checking boxes instead of seeking His direction.

And that got me thinking about how much of my life revolves around lists. Maybe it’s a grocery list, a “honey-do” list, or a rundown of work tasks. I am a list-maker—especially when it comes to work. If I don’t write things down, I’m likely to forget them. Every morning before I walk out the door, I run through my mental checklist: phone, keys, bag, water bottle. Without those essentials, I wouldn’t be able to start my car, open my office, or communicate with co-workers.

Lists help us stay organized, and they remind us of what needs to get done. But there is a danger in ordering our lives like we order a to-do list. Early in my walk with Christ, I was taught that life should be prioritized like this:

1. God

2. Family

3. Friends

4. Work

5. Hobbies

While that list isn’t necessarily wrong, it doesn’t reflect the fullness of a Christ-centered life. When we order our priorities, we tend to put the most important things in our lives at the top of the list, and the less important things tend to go further down the list. But what if we ditched the list altogether and instead viewed our lives through the lens of the roles God has called us to—and put Him at the center of them all?

In his book The 7 Resolutions, Karl Clauson writes,

“Whatever roles God has called you to fill, there is nothing of lesser importance than another. The problem of ranking roles in our mind, thereby diminishing some, is that we may not commit time to what we, or others, consider ‘lesser’ roles; or if we do, we may end up feeling judged or guilty. This is tragic and easily solved by looking at your life and roles in a more biblically sound way.”

God has called me to serve in many areas. At church, I lead Bible studies, mentor young women, and help lead worship. At work, I develop and implement recreation programs that serve senior adults, children, and families. These are just a few of the areas where I serve—but they aren’t boxes to be checked off on a list. They are roles God has entrusted to me. And rather than ranking them, I’m learning to place God at the center of every single one.

When God is at the center, every role, every task, every interaction becomes an act of submission and worship. James 4:7 reminds us,

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

That submission includes our time, our schedules, and our roles. Instead of presenting God with a neatly organized list of priorities, what if we offered Him our calendars and day planners and asked, “Lord, what do You want to be the focus today?”

James 4:14-15 says,

“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’”

We’re only promised today. So every day, we are to submit our roles, responsibilities, and routines to God and watch Him work through them. By placing Him at the center, we’re declaring, “God, I can’t do this on my own. I need Your wisdom and Your strength.”

When we live by a list, we risk leaning on our own strength. But when we live with God at the center of all we do, we are relying on His strength—the only strength that truly sustains. I’ve learned that when I don’t submit my roles to God and try to work in my own strength, it usually ends in disaster, and I begin to stress about my shortcomings. It is more freeing to work within the strength that God gives us than trying to muster up our own! When we press on in our own strength, we are going to either burn out or pass out.

Lastly, we have to remember that living a God-centered life isn’t a checklist to complete—it’s a calling to live out in daily surrender to God. When we stop listing our priorities and invite God into the center of every role, every responsibility, and every relationship, we begin to experience a life of deeper purpose and meaning. God doesn’t want the first part of your day—He wants to walk with you throughout your day. From morning meetings to bedtime prayers, He’s not asking to be scheduled in; He’s asking to lead. Keep making your to-do lists, but put God at the center and let Him reorder your steps, breathe life into your plans, and strengthen you for each task—not through your own strength, but through His. When God is at the center, everything else will fall into its proper place.

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Reflection:
Read James 4:7–10 and James 4:13–17

Questions:

• What unique roles has God given you?

• What changes can you make so that God is at the center rather than at the top of a list?

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Jamie Kent works in a Community Recreation Center and plans and implements programs for senior adults, children, and families. She also leads Bible studies, mentors young women, and helps lead worship. She holds a Master’s Degree in Ministry Leadership from Moody Theological Seminary, and her passion is to help others grow in their faith. Jamie resides in Waco, Texas, and in her free time, she enjoys playing guitar and crafting.