"But
seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things
shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33 (KJV)
What finally did end up working for
me was putting God first by giving Him the best time of my day, not what should
have been my best time or someone else's best time, but what actually was my
best time of the day. This change of attitude made all the difference. I'm sure
it will change with the seasons of life, but for now this is what works. After
lunch I put my 19 month old down for a nap and my oldest is given a Bible
activity to do while I go into the living room and spend quality time with God
in my Bible doing an end-depth Bible study, writing, and praying.
By giving Him my best time, I am giving
Him a sacrifice of my time trusting that He will give me that time back later
in the day to tackle the dishes, the laundry, the cleaning- anything that I have
put on hold in order to meet with Him. Somehow, the time is never missed, and
often I am using that time to talk to Him or think about scripture and what I
have recently learned. I was planning to have more time for writing once my
four year old started pre-school this past fall, but I knew that making time
for seeking Him above all had to come first. The miracle of that sacrifice is
that my writing has now bubbled over from my time with Him.
I do still check in with God first
thing in the morning and pray, but I have found that for me this time in the
morning is not the best for an in-depth prayer time or Bible study. I tend to
pray while I make my bed. For some reason it just feels right in my soul to make
order out of disorder and at the same time thank God for my life and all my
blessings. It starts my day with an expectant spirit about what He had prepared
for me. If I were to rely on this time
alone as my only time with God though it would not be enough. It could easily turn into a "drive
thru" prayer mentality with God- I'll say hey and put in my order hoping to get
a quick response and get what I want and then I will be on my way doing things
my way. A relationship with God doesn't work like that or any relationship for
that matter. Without more time with God
later in the day life starts to suffocate me much like a boa constrictor sucks out
life breath. The quiet time helps me to breathe easier. I begin to crave time with him more and more.
What started out as a seeking because I recognized my need, began a daily
longing to have quiet time. I have come to realize that I don't need more girl
time or pedicures or me time. What I need more than anything is more Thee time.
So I can say all these things to
encourage you, but it comes down initially to faith. Will you trust that God
will meet you? Will you make Him the focus of
your moments? I have heard it said that how you spend your moments is
how you end up spending your life. I
love God's seeming contradictions... for those moments will become big ones.
I will continue to share more of my
journey in "seeking Him first" by exploring more on "these
things shall be added" in the next
devotion.
No comments:
Post a Comment