Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3: 5-6)“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:37-39)
I’ve struggled with the verse from Matthew. Jesus is telling us that he has to come first to everyone. That’s incredibly difficult. There’s so much LIFE happening!
Lately I’ve been feeling pulled to spend more time focused on God throughout my day. I love that God is calling me to do that but where I stumbled was the HOW. It’s incredibly easy to get sucked into my job, my co-workers, and trying to prioritize issues as they come across my desk.
I want to share what I’ve done so far to try and put God first every day.
- I start my day with my bible plan and really meditate on what I’m reading. Sometimes I journal about it but usually I just sit and think about what I’ve read means to me. As a newer Christian, there’s a lot I’m learning.
- I try to spend more time on my drive into work and home from work talking to God – thanking Him for my day, asking for healing for those I know need it, etc.
- I spend more time thinking before I speak. I’m doing my best to be quiet, really listen, and then think hard about what I’m saying. Because I’m focused on that it means I’m thinking about God more often too.
- I thank God before (almost) every meal. Even a simple “Thank you, God, for this food. Amen”, does wonders to help me focus on God.
- I’m back on the not-swearing bandwagon. If I catch myself swearing, I apologize to the person/people around me and God, and rephrase what I was saying without the curse word.
- I’ve started talking to God before bed. I used to have my morning and after work prayers but rarely thanked God at the end of the day. Now I try to do that before I turn out the light.
God calls all of us to put Him first. One final thing that has helped me is learning about the Shema – the daily prayer recited by Jewish people twice a day – in the morning and evening. I learned about it through a series on the Shema via The Bible Project.
The Shema:
Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
The Bible Project series on The Shema is fascinating because they break it down word by word. Definitely give it a listen when you can.
Jesus calls us to put God first in everything. What more can each of us do? I’d love to hear your ideas – I’m pretty sure this is something we all need to work on.
There are many times that I still worry about what others think or how I appear. I’m working hard on letting that go and thinking more about how I’m living up to God’s expectations of me.
Almighty Father, thank You for helping me focus on You throughout my day. Please continue to push me closer to You through my thoughts, words, and deeds. Amen.