We have this hilarious habit of trying to fix
deep spiritual problems with productivity tools.
The second we notice that our life is drifting,
we don't drop to our knees. We open the app store
or we head to Target. We download a new habit
tracker, build an intricate digital dashboard,
or buy a sleek paper planner or a pristine whiteboard.
We think if we can just color code our chaos,
we'll fix our souls. And look, schedules matter.
But an app? cannot repent for you. A push notification
cannot reorder what your heart actually loves.
And a whiteboard cannot restore broken worship.
A clean calendar is completely useless if you're
still treating God like a background app on a
crowded home screen. When God exposes the drift,
the first question isn't how do I fix my schedule?
The real question is what needs to return to
the altar? Welcome to an extra shot of Grace
in the Grind, the part of the show where the
mics probably should have been turned off, but
we kept talking anyways. This is our bonus space
for some deeper theology, raw stories, and a
level of caffeinated commentary that I should
probably apologize for in advance. So grab your
coffee and take a deep breath. Let's get into
it. In Romans 12 .1, Paul writes, Present your
bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable
to God, which is your spiritual worship. Notice.
Paul does not say present God with an optimized
morning routine. He says present your bodies.
Worship isn't a neat little category you squeeze
in your day right between reply to emails and
leg day. It's total surrender. The altar doesn't
ask where can I fit God in today? It declares
all of this belongs to him. The real issue we
face is never do I have enough God time on my
schedule. The real issue is Who actually owns
the schedule? Because if God only gets a 15 -minute
slot on your calendar, he isn't your Lord. He's
a dentist appointment. And God is not looking
to be penciled in between your grocery run and
your Netflix queue. He wants the whole house,
not just a timeshare. Then we jump to Matthew
6, 21. Jesus drops this diagnostic truth bomb.
For where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also. We love to blame our spiritual
drift on poor time management. But your calendar
doesn't create your loves. It just exposes them.
What we frantically protect, what we consistently
push aside, shows us exactly what our treasure
is. A calendar problem is almost always a worship
problem. Because time naturally follows love.
That is incredibly uncomfortable to admit because
it means you can't use busyness as an excuse
anymore. Think about it. We claim we're too busy
to pray for 10 minutes, but we magically find
45 minutes to watch a stranger on YouTube restore
a rusty axe from the 1800s. We aren't too busy.
We're just fully devoted to what comforts, distracts,
and validates us in the moment. Treasure leads
the heart. And the heart leads the life. God
doesn't want to help you color code your week.
He wants to show you what you're actually worshiping.
Now this is hard. Jesus says in Luke 9 verse
23, Now, Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. And
so when we look at the altar in scripture, It's
never a cute metaphor for a spiritual hobby.
It's a place of fire, blood, and sacrifice. So
when we talk about rebuilding the altar, we aren't
saying, hey, let's make church a priority again.
We're saying something has to die. Everybody
wants the beautiful peace of restored worship.
But nobody wants to do the actual killing part.
If Christ is your Lord, You don't get to keep
your favorite idols alive. You don't get to keep
your ultimate comforts untouched, your control
protected, or your preferred vision of success
on the throne. True surrender doesn't say, Lord,
you can have my whole life, except my screen
time and my spending habits. That isn't surrender.
That's hostage negotiation. And the altar is
not a negotiating table. You cannot return to
the altar and keep your idols on life support.
A calendar can move tasks around, but only surrender
can put an idol out of its misery. Psalm 127
.1 drops a massive warning against cultural obsession
with life optimization. Unless the Lord builds
the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Rhythms are great. Planning is wise. But a healthy
structure becomes highly dangerous the second
you expect it to save you. Too often, We use
time blocking, meal prepping, and digital dashboards
to give us what only God can provide. Deep peace,
absolute security, and a sense of control. That
is when your calendar officially becomes a false
savior. We think, if I can just download the
right productivity app, my soul will have shalom.
If I can just protect my calendar, my family
will be emotionally whole. But Psalm 127 won't
let us off that easy. It says, do not build like
your systems can carry what only God can carry.
Go ahead and make the plan, but do not ask an
app to be your Messiah. If the altar is neglected,
a cleaner schedule just helps you drift away
from God with maximum efficiency. So here's your
practical assignment for this week. Before you
open your calendar app or touch a dry erase marker,
sit down and ask yourself four brutal questions.
Who actually owns this part of my life? Not in
theory, in real daily practice. What does my
current schedule reveal that I actually love,
fear, or trust? What needs to die at the altar
before I start rearranging my time blocks? Where
have I been asking a productivity tool to give
me what only God can give me? Don't rush these
things. And once you answer them, take exactly
one step. Not ten steps, just one. Do not try
to launch a 75 -step hard spiritual boot camp
by tomorrow morning. You will just exhaust your
entire household by Thursday night. Just make
one clear act of surrender. Maybe your phone
stays in the kitchen overnight so it isn't the
first thing you worship in the morning. Maybe
you close your work laptop strictly at 5 p .m.
Maybe you apologize to your spouse because your
schedule has been protecting your personal preferences
instead of your actual people. Whatever it is,
start at the altar. A cleaner calendar might
improve your week, but only surrender can reorder
your worship. So if this cup has stepped on your
toes today, don't just jump up and frantically
rewrite your to -do list. Stop, take a breath,
and bring it straight to the Lord. Start with
the altar. The altar never asks, where can I
fit God in? It declares, all of this belongs
to Him. So yes, fix your calendar. Protect your
family rhythms. Make the necessary adjustments.
But do not stop at basic time management. Return
to absolute surrender. Return to the Lord who
refuses to take a tiny corner of your schedule
and is calling your entire life back to himself.
Thanks for joining me on this extra shot of Grace
on the Grind. Until next time, keep your coffee
strong and your faith stronger. God is not asking
for your leftovers. He's calling you home. We'll
see you in the next cup.