Priorities

Last week I was given the best advice. Do to the amount of encouragement it gave me, I desperately wanted to share it with you. This advice may not come to a surprise to you but for me it was a revelation that I had not given enough thought.

Matthew 22:37 says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."

I think maybe my whole life I have looked at this verse with blind eyes. It just hasn't been clear to me what loving God means. My mentor Karen told me that as long as i remember that loving God is my first priority I will stand firm and not fall away. We began talking about this and she asked me what my priorities were and naturally I said, "God and what i do for Him..." Karen quickly told me that What I do for God is not as important as having an intimate relationship with God. I can do a lot of things for God but none of it matters unless I love Him and allow him to have my whole life completely and wholly.

It has been so easy for me to think that my relationship with God is right because I am constantly working in the church and surrounded by religion and good needs. However, I have come to the realization that while this is important, my relationship with God should be above all else! I can't just cook and clean and serve all the time. God doesn't just want that. He wants me. He wants to hold me under his wings and hear about what gives me joy and comfort and peace and what breaks my heart and hurts me. God wants my heart, my soul, my mind.

Many times I wonder why so many people in the ministry fall away. The reason is because they become so busy with doing "godly work" that they forget to cultivate their relationship with God and slowly but surely the ground they stand on is no longer rock but sand.

We all have the ability to fall. This is so scary to me. However, I know that if I continually have an intimate relationship with the Lord he will keep my feet planted firmly on the ground. This is not only my prayer for myself but also for you. I hope this brings you revelation and encourage like it did me.