Putting God First In Our Lives

For this week’s BlogThursday post, we will be sharing the importance of what it means to put God first in our lives. This is a topic which I know we can all struggle with as Christians as I have myself, and hope to share a few teachings on how to overcome this. To help us understand this further, our main verse for this week is Proverbs 3:5-6 as it reads, “Trust in the Lord with aIl your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight paths.” There are many things we can take from this verse as it gives us comfort and knowledge when striving to be more like Christ.

Many of us may know the simple fact that God must come first in our lives and in everything we do, but how much of an understanding do we really have on what this actually means? We are young men and women of God which means just like anyone else, we face challenges everyday that can distract us and cause us to be distant from God. The verse of the week means to not just trust God a little and hope things work out, but to trust him wholeheartedly knowing He will always make a way. This means truly and genuinely believing that God will work things out for you even when you don’t understand how this can be done yourself. It is when you focus on God completely that you see all things fall into place in your life as he will make straight of your paths.

Putting God first in your life as a Christian involves prioritising your relationship with God and aligning your actions with biblical principles. Below are examples of how you can prioritise God in your Christian walk.

Being free from Idolatry

This means not idolising the things of this world in our hearts and not prioritising them more than we prioritise God. For example, idolising money, secular music and celebrities. When we do this, we are giving the things of this world power and letting them influence us which can then lead to sin. Investing time and our hearts into these things also means we are spending less time with God which results in us becoming distant and therefore loving something or someone more than God. We must tear from our hearts anything that lessens our devotion to or reverence of God. He should be in our hearts always. - 1 John 5:21, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

Thankfulness

I’m sure we can all admit that we take many things on earth for granted and sometimes forget to acknowledge what’s really important in life. For example, I have found myself getting distracted with things such as exams and work which results in me feeling exhausted and sometimes complaining. However, once I had prayed about my struggles and worries, God helped me to understand that things such as education and having a job are a blessing and a great opportunity which God has provided me with in order to succeed in life. We can also practise giving thanks first thing in the morning and last thing before we end our day as this shows God that he is the first thing on our mind when we wake up and allows us to give him thanks for the day ahead. Therefore, we must acknowledge and appreciate God in everything we do as he makes all things possible and will never let our struggles and pain last forever. - 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Living to please God

We must remember that it is only God’s word that should come first at times when we are unsure of what to do, not the opinion of others. You can do this through reading the Bible or through prayer as this allows you to be intimate with God and communicate with your Father. A person whose actions are seen as ‘not right’ but who trusts the Lord is more pleasing to God than an individual who is doing the right things but has no faith in God. This means knowing that God will help you overcome your issue and deciding not to lean on your own understanding is more important than listening to those who are not making a righteous decision. We must please God over people and not serve two masters. - Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

If we want a perfect direction in life, whether we are buying a house, looking for a spouse or planning a vacation, in all our ways we should acknowledge the Lord. He should be first in all things and in the centre of all our relationships. There can be so much more to be discussed in Proverbs 3:5-6 as this is among the more often-quoted verses of the entire Bible and Solomon offers sound advice for life. Human understanding is always subject to error, what appears to be the right choice may be the wrong choice, but the Lord sees the bigger picture and He always knows what is best for us.

Prayer...

Dear God,

Thank you for all that you do for us. Help us in overcoming the distractions of this life. Lord, we ask that you may help us in prioritising spending time with you above all else. Allow us to be able to apply this teaching onto our lives and trust in your ways wholeheartedly. In the midst of all the distractions, grant us the wisdom and discernment to focus on what truly matters, our relationship with you. Guide our steps, give us strength and courage.

In Jesus' name, Amen.