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Putting God First in Your Priorities
Joyce
Meyer
There are so many things that clamor for our
attention and devotion: our jobs, our kids, our spouses, our hobbies — the
demands and distractions of life.
And we have to be careful not to let them
become more important or more of a priority than our relationship with God.
The first of the Ten Commandments states we
will have no other gods before Him (see Exodus 20:3).
And Deuteronomy 5:8-9 says, "You must not make for
yourself an idol of any kind, or an image of anything in the heavens or on the
earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the
Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any
other gods" (NLT).
Yet how many of the things that occupy our
time, money, thoughts and attention have taken the place where God is supposed
to be?
Distractions from Truth
Anything can become a god to us — anything we
worship or put an excessive amount of time into.
Even your feelings can become a god if you
allow them to control you.
We need to ask ourselves, Am I bowing
down to God and His Word or to my feelings?
Another challenge we have to confront is
living in a world full of humanism and people not wanting God and His truth to
interfere with their lives and routines.
It seems we have an epidemic of selfishness in
our world today, and this creates all kinds of unhealthy situations.
For example, when people refuse to honor God
and follow His wisdom in their decisions, it causes them to become bogged down
with worry, resentment and bitterness.
Eventually it shows up as sickness and disease
in their bodies. And in our culture, this behavior causes a decline in our
moral standards and attitudes.
But the good news is, we don’t have to settle
for this way of living.
In Christ, we can enjoy our lives — abundantly!
(See John 10:10)
How to Establish the
Habit of Living for God
The key to having God’s “abundant life”
— His love, peace and joy — is keeping Him in His rightful place in our
priorities.
God said to Abraham, "… Walk
[habitually] before Me [with integrity, knowing that you are always in My
presence], and be blameless and complete [in obedience to Me]" (Genesis 17:1 AMP).
Notice that God instructed Abraham to be
habitual in walking with Him and living for Him.
We can do this by establishing daily habits of
prayer, worship and regular, consistent time spent in His Word.
I love the Word of God! It is amazing. It
contains wisdom, encouragement, comfort and inspiration for every conceivable
human problem or dilemma.
His Word brings peace and stability to our
spirits, and it will renew our minds (see Romans 12:2).
Get excited about getting into the Bible!
Benefits of Keeping God
First
Make it your goal to have a deep, intimate
relationship with God. Let Him into every area of your life.
If you constantly look to other people for
answers and validation, pray about this and ask the Lord to help you stop doing
that and instead look to Him. (See 1 Thessalonians 2:4.)
As we live to please God, He promises to bless
our lives and make us prosper.
When you decide to serve God with your whole
heart and make Him first in your life, your soul will prosper and your joy and
peace will increase.
Remember to lean on Him
more than anything else, and tell Him, “God, I want to do this, but I can’t
do it without You.”
He doesn’t expect you to live for Him in your
own strength or ability, and He understands when you make mistakes.
So, if you mess up, don’t be discouraged and
let it hold you back; confess it and keep going.
God will give you grace to do what you need to
do. One day at a time, you and God together can do anything!
Joyce Meyer Ministries is a Christian-based non-profit organization that's
financially supported by contributions from friends and partners of the
ministry.
Through the teachings and calling
God has given to Joyce, Joyce Meyer Ministries is dedicated to sharing God's
love and the life-changing message of the Bible with the world through TV,
radio, various media productions, live conferences and this website. Read More
Joyce Meyer Ministries is
called to share the Gospel and extend the love of Christ. Through media we
teach people how to apply biblical truth to every aspect of their lives and
encourage God's people to serve the world around them.
https://joycemeyer.org/everydayanswers/ea-teachings/putting-god-first-in-your-priorities
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