God, your priority ?

Friday 25 June 2021

God, your priority ?

Searching the Scriptures

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. 1 John 5:21

God says that whatever takes its place in our life is an idol. Can you plan your day to spend time with God ?

To make sure that you always have time for God, let me give you an illustration. Imagine a jar filled with small pebbles. The jar is full... to the brim. Now you just have one more stone to add to the jar, but the jar is twice the size of the others. You look at it and you are aware that it just cannot fit into that jar. However, you try to place it above the others, hoping that with a little force it will come in. Alas, the pebbles are hard and, if you insist, you will end up breaking the jar ! Eventually you give up and recognize that there really is no room for that rock. So you have to leave it out of the jar.

Later, a friend arrives and says : "I'll show you how to fit that rock into this jar! The thing to never forget is that you have to put the big rock first." She then empties the contents of the jar onto the table, places the large stone inside and begins placing the small stones one by one. And all the pebbles fit into the jar, so much so that there is still room left ! She looks at you with pride and repeats : "Remember, the big stone first !"

The jar represents your day and the little pebbles symbolize all the little things you need to do during that day. The big stone represents the most important thing you have to do, which is to spend time with God. If you wait to put God last, you will see that nothing will work. However, it’s amazing : when you put God first, the rest will automatically fall into place and all will be well.

In everything I do, I try to put God first because I know that in doing so everything will fit together perfectly.

The best way I have found to know if God is first in my life is to take the time to think it over and ask myself some very simple questions : "What do I think about the most ?" ; "What's the first thing that comes to my mind in the morning and what's the last I think of in the evening? " ; "What do I do with my time ?"

What about you ? Is God also the most important person to you ? Are you able to give him the best of your time, or does he have to settle for the scraps of your day, without you really giving him the attention he deserves ?

Listen to the voice of God

Let’s take the time to listen to what God means. Is God the priority in your life? Ask him to show you what might prevent his being fully.

Praying is easy. Talk to God as you would your closest friend. God loves you and he can hear everything. Here is an example of a prayer : "Lord, I let myself be carried away by the little things of everyday life, to the point of leaving you the crumbs of my day. I beg your forgiveness. I am giving you back the first place in my life."

Praise God

To praise God is to show him our gratitude. What are your subjects of recognition today? Take a moment to thank the Lord for this.

Act today

Now dig deeper into what you have received. What can you do to apply what God has told you ? Write down the concrete actions you can take.

Honor the Lord

Our route for the day comes to an end. Let us pray together to honor our God.

"Thank you for this time of pause which allows me to take stock with you, Lord. Yours be the reign, the power and the glory forever. So be it !"

Joyce Meyer

Source (The Thought of the Day)