“Order in the court” is a phrase you’ve probably heard frequently if you’ve ever watched legal dramas on television or at the movies.

In fact, Law and Order was one of the longest running series on television.

Order is defined at dictionary.com as:

“an authoritative direction or instruction; command; mandate; to regulate, conduct, or manage: to order one's life for greater leisure.”

Personally, I prefer the wisdom of Luke 1:1 in the Amplified Bible which says:

“Since [as is well known] many have undertaken to put in order and draw up a [thorough] narrative of the surely established deeds which have been accomplished and fulfilled in and among us.”

Here seven reasons why order is key to your personal success.

1.         Our great Jehovah is a God of order.

Genesis 1:2 says:

“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

Beginning in Genesis 1:3 and continuing through Genesis 2:18 when He created woman. . .we find eleven times where order was established in the earth by the words “God said.”

There is no question that you and I are to bring order into our lives by the words we speak.

Genesis 1:11 says:

“And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.”

Five other times in Genesis 1. . .God created something “after its kind.”  So without question. . .He is a God of order.

God’s commitment to order is further exhibited in Genesis 8:22:

“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

Without question. . .there was order in creation and with every single thing written in the Word of God.

2.         God wants order in the way we think, speak and act.

God created an orderly progression in what we hear, how we think and what we speak.

Proverbs 23:7

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. . .”

A short journey through Proverbs 4:23-27 demonstrates why God wants order in our lives.

Proverbs 4:23 in the Amplified Bible says:

“Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.”

Proverbs 4:24 in the Amplified Bible says:

“Put away from you false and dishonest speech, and willful and contrary talk put far from you.”

Proverbs 4:25 in the Amplified Bible says:

“Let your eyes look right on [with fixed purpose], and let your gaze be straight before you.”

Proverbs 4:26 in the Amplified Bible says:

“Consider well the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established and ordered aright.”

Proverbs 4:27 in the Amplified Bible says:

“Turn not aside to the right hand or to the left; remove your foot from evil.”

Whatever you plant in your mind will be harvested in your life.

Ps 141:3 in the New Living Translation says:

“Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips.”

Without question we were created for order.

3.         Order is preparation for a miracle.

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is found Matthew 14:16-20 which says:

14 “And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

Jesus brought order to the healing line. . .He healed all of them.  

15 “And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.

His disciples must have had a temporary lapse because they forgot who they were talking to. . .and what He had just done.  They only saw chaos.

16 “But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.

Jesus said things not as they appeared to be. . .but as He knew they could and would be.

 17 “And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

The disciples were still thinking in the terms of the worst case scenario.

 18 “He said, Bring them hither to me.

Next, it’s important to understand what Jesus did in Matthew 14:19:

Matthew 14:19

“Then he ordered the people to sit down on the grass. After he took the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed the food. He broke the loaves apart, gave them to the disciples, and they gave them to the people.”

There was even order in the follow up. . .details.

20 “And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.”

Jesus brought order to the situation. . .and that’s what you need to do.

If you’re in financial trouble right now. . .you need to bring order to your situation.

Have you ever seen a movie, TV program or experience in real life. . .a situation where someone loses their job. . .and their house becomes a wreck. . .looks like it was hit by an internal tsunami.  That’s the worst thing a person can do.

When dealing with a perceived problem. . .don’t panic. . .bring order into the environment.  Order gets the thought processes back working and allows us to view possible solutions to whatever problem we may be facing.

Order never comes out of chaos.  Discipline determines your direction.  Actually godly discipline determines right direction.

4.         God can use others to bring order into our own lives.

Moses is being paid a visit by Jethro, his father-in-law.  If I may, I want to have a popular culture moment. 

The Jethro of the scripture reminds me of Jethro Gibbs from the NCIS TV show . . .in terms of his demeanor and approach to life.  Oh well, let’s read. . .

Exodus 18:17-23 in the Message Bible says:

“Moses' father-in-law said, "This is no way to go about it. You'll burn out, and the people right along with you. This is way too much for you—you can't do this alone.

“Now listen to me. Let me tell you how to do this so that God will be in this with you. Be there for the people before God, but let the matters of concern be presented to God. Your job is to teach them the rules and instructions, to show them how to live, what to do.

“And then you need to keep a sharp eye out for competent men—men who fear God, men of integrity, men who are incorruptible—and appoint them as leaders over groups organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten.

“They'll be responsible for the everyday work of judging among the people. They'll bring the hard cases to you, but in the routine cases they'll be the judges. They will share your load and that will make it easier for you. If you handle the work this way, you'll have the strength to carry out whatever God commands you, and the people in their settings will flourish also."

First, every successful leader. . .makes sure their plans. . .were first, God’s plans.

Second, effective leadership is always duplicable.

If you’re good at developing successful leaders . . .you’ll never be out of a job. 

Third, create a winning profile for members of your leadership team.

Fourth, delegate. . .not relegate.

Fifth, have specific instructions with timelines.

Sixth, effective leaders build a network of effective leaders.

Seventh, create a successful infra-structure.

5.         God doesn’t tolerate disorder or excuses.

God established order in the garden.

Genesis 2:16-17 says:

“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

Adam and Eve violated God’s instructions and the order He established in the garden.

Genesis 3:12-13 says:

“And the man said, The woman whom You gave to be with me—she gave me [fruit] from the tree, and I ate.  And the Lord God said to the woman, What is this you have done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled (cheated, outwitted, and deceived) me, and I ate.”

Adam and Eve violated the established order and suffered the consequences.

Genesis 3:23-24 in the New Living Translation says:

“So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made.  After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Miriam and Aaron violated the order God established through spiritual authority when they spoke against Moses.

Numbers 12:1-2 says:

“And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.”  2 And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it.

Their real concern with Moses had little to do with the woman he married and a whole lot more with the fact that their younger brother had more authority than they did...which comes out in verse two.  "And the Lord heard it."

Speaking against God’s anointed violates His spiritual authority and destines you for consequences.

Numbers 12:9-10 says:

“And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed.  And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.”

Even King David violated God’s instructions and the order He established.

1 Chronicles 21:17 says:

“David said to God, “I’m the one who ordered the people to be counted. I am the one who sinned and did wrong. What have these sheep done? Lord my God, let your punishment be against me and my father’s family, but don’t punish your people with a plague.”

6.         An ordered life is a productive life.

My mentor and personal friend Dr. Mike Murdock defines order as “the accurate arrangement of things.”

This definition could have come from 1 Corinthians 14:40 which says:

“Let all things be done decently and in order.”

According to Strong’s Concordance the Greek word for order comes from a root word (tassō) which means:

“to place in a certain order, to arrange, to assign a place, to appoint”

Scriptural order and personal success come from those who delight in His way.

Psalm 37:23 says:

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.”

When we allow God to order our steps. . .He will be Happy Happy Happy with us.

Psalm 119:33 says:

“Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.”

When we move in obedience to His divine direction we never have to worry about sin having any dominion over our lives.

Luke 1:1

“Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,”

7.         Practical thoughts on bringing order into your life.

1 Corinthians 14:33 in the Amplified Bible says:

“For He [Who is the source of their prophesying] is not a God of confusion and disorder but of peace and order. As [is the practice] in all the churches of the saints (God’s people).”

Here are seven practical ideas on how to bring order into your personal life.

First, bring order into your environment.

Remove clutter from your life including but not limited to. . .your desk, dresser, closet, night stand, bathroom reading rack, medicine cabinet, garage, attic and. . .well, everything else.  Smiling.

We’re in the process of selling our home. . .my wife has done an excellent in “feng shuing” (Japanese term) the house. . .which means removing the clutter and simplifying the look. . .thus allowing potential buyers to see themselves living there.  She, however, calls it Holy Ghost "shuing" it because the Holy Spirit helped her make the decisions.

Ask God how to bring order into your environment. . .He will gladly reveal it to you.

Psalm 32:8 in the English Standard Version (ESV) says:

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”

Second, bring order into your job, business or retirement.

Let’s start with your car. . .the interior and exterior of your car reflect the order in your life.  If there’s stuff in the floor board. . .it sends a message. . .and not the one you necessarily want.  Clean it up. . .and keep it tidy every day.

Your office desk, work station and files are a reflection of whether or not your professional life is in order.

Whether or not your late for appointments or meetings is another indicator of whether or not. . .you’ll be in line for promotion.

If you’re retired. . .is there an order to your day. . .do you have a plan for your week? 

1 Timothy 4:15 in the New Living Translation says:

“Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress.”

Third, bring order into your spiritual, mental and physical thought-processes and actions.

The best way to bring order to your thought-processes is three fold.

First, in Romans 12:2 in the New Living Translation it says:

“Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”

Second, Philippians 2:2 in the Amplified Bible says:

“Fill up and complete my joy by living in harmony and being of the same mind and one in purpose, having the same love, being in full accord and of one harmonious mind and intention.”

Third, visit www.haroldherring.com and read “7 Things To Do Before You Go To Sleep” over and over again. . .until it becomes as routine as breathing.

Fourth, bring order into your choice of friends and their rotation in and out of your circle of influence.

This is real simple.

If your friends aren’t motivated toward success or seeking a better quality of life for themselves and their families. . .then a large part of your life will naturally be in disorder. 

I’m not telling you to dump the old friends. . .but I’m definitely recommending you get some new ones. . .whose motivation, beliefs and lifestyle promote order.

1 Corinthians 15:33 in the Amplified Bible says:

"Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character."

Fifth, bring order into your habits.

Strengthen habits that bring order into your life and release those that don’t.

Don’t ask me why. . .but several things immediately came to mind when I started typing this point.

Make sure you get a proper amount of exercise.

Stay hydrated….drink half of your body weight in ounces of water…which will increase your energy level and removes toxins.

Change your toothbrush every 90 days thus removing the possibility of bacteria from your life.  This should become a routine procedure.

Finally, organize your photos perhaps even scanning them into your computer.

Literally, there are dozens and dozens of other things I could have written but these are the ones that came to mind.

Job 22:26 in the Amplified Bible says:

“You shall also decide and decree a thing, and it shall be established for you; and the light [of God's favor] shall shine upon your ways.” 

Sixth, bring order into your daily routines.

Bring order into the ways you shop.  Always go with a list.

Give careful thought to the days you shop.  For instance, never go to WalMart on Saturday unless you go early in the morning.  The same is true with visits to the grocery store.

If you’re married. . .always. . .have quality time with your spouse.  Make every activity a date. . .in addition to regular date nights.

The key to maintaining order in your daily life. . .is to stay fresh.  Schedule time to reflect and re-direct your focus.

Lamentations 3:40 in the New Living Translation which says:

“Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord.”

Seventh, bring order into your finances.

The best way to bring order into your financial arena is with a plan to get out of debt or a plan to never get in debt again.

Never make a major purchase without talking to God about it and your spouse, if married.

If you want more information on financial order. . .visit www.haroldherring.com and read my many blogs on the subject.

Luke 14:28-30 in the Message Bible says:

“Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish.’”

Two final scriptures. . .

Proverbs 12:27 in the Message Bible says:

“A lazy life is an empty life, but "early to rise" gets the job done.”

When you bring order into your life. . then you will find extra satisfaction in Deuteronomy12:16 in the Message Bible:

“…You are to celebrate in the Presence of God, your God, all the things you've been able to accomplish.”

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