In All Things, God Comes First
“We must learn how to be with Jesus inside the contours of our everyday life - not an idealised version of the life we wished we had, used to have or plan to have but the life we actually have Here now today”. - Mark John Comer
Right now as I sit at my kitchen bench top, in Western Sydney, Australia. I can see two beautiful big white Galah perched in the tree shrub. They look too big for the small-branched tree but even the wind blowing and swaying them doesn’t deter them from whatever task it is they are doing up there together. Since moving to this location facing the Blue Mountains with a reserve / bushland / park next to our home, I don’t take these small moments of birds or sunsets or clouds in the sky for granted. To me they are gifts in my day from God, for my pleasure.
Prioritising God in my day means thanking him along the way. I truly believe that whether I am loading the dishwasher, serving at church, reading my Bible, parenting my children, cleaning the house, praying, worshiping, driving my car, that none of these moments are more or less holy than the other but that all of them are equal if we do it truly with our heart towards God.
In my relationships with people, I don’t re-introduce myself to them every time I meet them. It’s the same with God. Praying and talking to God is like a chatter that ebbs and flows. Intimacy with God, is a continual conversation through all our ups and downs, lows and highs mundane and exhilarating moments. Yes I can put time aside for prayer and worship. Jesus wants this. He wants our undivided attention our focus and heart towards him. Placing aside all our hurts and disappointment makes prayer a healing balm. Asking forgiveness for sin and worshipping through our words and hearts reminds us exactly who God is.
Placing God directly to the first position in our lives is vital for our relationship with him to grow and develop just like alone time as a married couple is vital. Intimacy is achieved through our communion with Him. When God is our centre it’s easy for the rest of our world to align. Our priorities change, what we do with our time, how we plan our week. When we are about God and his calling and purpose for us. Not our grand ideas but his storyline. Then we find obedience to his prompting. We lay down everything at his feet. We start again when all seems lost. We hope when we feel hopeless. We grieve when we need to grieve. In all these things God is ever present. He is by the hospital bed, and your sick child, he is at the funeral and at your wedding feast, he is going on roller coasters with you and cheering you on when you overcome.
This is true intimacy. This is the dream of Eden. That he would walk with us in the cool of the day. That we would find our comfort, rest and peace in Him.
I don’t always get this right. I haven’t arrived and I am by no means a perfect Christian (ask my children) but I’m not seeking perfection as much as I am seeking His Holiness to cover my unholiness. So that I can abide in Him.
Life becomes uncomplicated when we say yes to God and no to the other distractions in life. This week, look around. See what treasures God has got for you. Thank him when you notice them. Open the conversation up to more than a checklist or prayer list or behaviour chart. Be authentically you and take your raw pure emotions to him. Let him take your hurts. Be willing to see the beauty of the mundane and that God has got you.
#trueworship #eden #walkingwithGod #worship #devotion