My Morning with God- Mark 8:36 KJV

✨Devotional: “Keeping the Main Thing, the Main Thing” — Mark 8:36✨

From the Heart of a Nurse Navigator

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” — Mark 8:36 (KJV)

Today at my Church, The City Worship Center, Pastor Diggs took us straight to the core of our walk with Christ — the balancing act of life. Not a balance of schedules and shifting priorities, but the deeper balancing act between the pull of this world and the call of eternity.

As a nurse, and specifically as a Nurse Navigator, this scripture speaks right into the marrow of my purpose. I spend my days guiding patients through systems, decisions, risks, and unknowns. I help people weigh outcomes. I help them understand what is worth fighting for and what is worth releasing. I help them choose what leads to life.

And yet, Jesus reminds us through Mark 8:36 that none of us can afford to lose sight of the most important navigation of all: the navigation of our soul.

The Main Thing

Pastor said, “Keep the main thing the main thing.”

But the world constantly pulls us in the opposite direction —

More money.

More status.

More success.

More recognition.

Like patients surrounded by noise, alarms, and fear, we can become overwhelmed by the wrong priorities. We chase results without checking vitals. We crave movement without measuring direction.

But Christ is calling us back to the center — to the One thing that is eternal.

The Balancing Act

Mark 8:36 is not just a warning; it’s a diagnostic tool. It asks:

• What are you trading your peace for?

• What are you exchanging your purpose for?

• What are you sacrificing your soul to hold?

As a Nurse Navigator, I know this truth:

You can gain every possible advantage — the finest treatment, the newest resources, the most advanced interventions — and still lose the battle if the heart is compromised.

Spiritually, it is the same.

We can gain the world in the eyes of people and lose the presence of God in our own spirit.

The Nurse Navigator’s Lens

Every day, I help patients identify the “main thing” —

Not what hurts the most,

But what heals the most.

And Jesus does the same for us.

He is not asking us to juggle priorities — He is calling us to surrender them.

He is not asking us to impress Him — He is asking us to trust Him.

He is not asking us to earn salvation — He is asking us not to let the world steal what He already gave. Also we often fear letting God down. It is a thoughtful sentiment but in reality we are not holding God up so we can’t let him down. In actuality, he is the one that is holding us up! Our job is to love and have faith in him.

Reflection

Ask yourself today:

What am I pursuing that cannot save me?

What am I holding that cannot fill me?

What am I gaining that is quietly costing me my soul?

Because balance isn’t found in having everything —

Balance is found in putting everything at the feet of Jesus.

Prayer

Father, help me keep my soul aligned with You.

Strip away what distracts, what drains, and what deceives.

Teach me to recognize what truly matters and to release what does not. I create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me.

Order my steps, calm my spirit, speak to my heart, and anchor my life in You.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Nurse Navigator and CatherinePickett.com.