It was an average Thursday morning. I slid out of my warm, comfy bed to get ready for the day. I wish I could be the person that wakes up smiling and singing with birds flying through the air but it usually takes me around an hour to get ready to even talk in the morning. I made breakfast and began my devotional time. I used to be the person that refused to wake up early to have devo because I thought I was not a “morning person.” I did my devotionals at night and, while it was nice how God could teach me through what I had experienced that day, I always felt like I wasn’t prioritizing God, as He deserved. I would always wake up in enough time to fix my hair and face for the workday, so why couldn’t I fit in some one-on-one time with the Lord? I began waking up 20 minutes early a couple of months ago and it has become something I’ve really looked forward to.
My devotional that morning was on love and trust. Being that it is almost Valentine’s Day, and being a single woman, naturally I thought about love. I was humbled at the realization of how much of an idol I build towards marriage and relationships in my mind. I’m either frustrated because my future husband hasn’t shown up yet or I’m idolizing how great he will be. I know he will be wonderful just for me but he will only be human too. All the while, I’m using up my energy and time in the present thinking on someone that God has not brought into my life yet. Was I really trusting God for that area of my life?
As I got into my car and headed to work I began listening to some music. The song “How He Loves” started playing and I began singing right along! I was stopped at a red light and all of a sudden it hit me. “He is jealous for me!” “Oh, how He love us!” At that moment I understood what He had been trying to communicate with me that morning. He loves me so much and wants my love and attention right now. Whether single or married, my first priority will always be to love Him first. That “glow” that couples in love have should be on ALL of our faces!
All of the times I’ve done Bible study in a hurry or forgot to pray must hurt Him. Do I prioritize the man I am seeing at the time, or other hobbies and interests, over my time with the Lord without even a thought? Would I “forget” to talk with a boyfriend days at a time or ignore him on a date? When I really spend time with the Lord and cherish His Word, it is amazing! God created me. Jesus died for me. The Holy Spirit is housed in me. He wants to talk to me and listen. Spend time with me. He pursues me. He never leaves me. He cherishes every word I say. He is always there. Wow, sounds like a catch, right? I love how in Psalm 136 it repetitively states: “His love endures forever.” I need that repetition. Is it really so hard for me to let that sink in? Why do I take Him for granted or have the audacity to try and “fit” Him into my schedule when it is all His anyway?
As I sat at the red light and realized how I was essentially “playing hard to get” with God, teardrops fell from my eyes. Simultaneously, raindrops began to fall from the sky onto my windshield. We were, in a sense, crying together. I was rekindling and accepting the love I have with my Heavenly Father, once again. He cares for me. He knows all of my intricacies and still loves me. He wants a deeper relationship with me, to fill me up with His peace, and for me to trust Him completely. He wants all of these things with you as well! He has good plans for me including love and an amazing life right now! Hopefully, this will include a husband and children in the future, but until they come along in His timing (and even when they do) He will always be my first love. My loving father here on Earth will one day give my hand away and I’ll take my husbands. In that moment, I believe that God will only hold onto my hands even tighter. He is, without a doubt, jealous for me.
Wow,sis what a beautiful writing about Gods love for you and us all, you brought a tear to your earthly father’s eyes.
Your devotional writings give Joyce Meyer a run for the money…..Keep it up!!!,,
That was beautiful, so proud God has really given you a wonderful talent with your writing,,
Love you……..Mom
I know I said it in person, but thank you so much, Ma & Dad! Y’all are so sweet to comment on my posts and your encouragement means so much to me! Love you!
Your writing reminds me of this passage which I was just going over last night… James 4:4-8 NASB
…, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
You are very correct in saying we need to prioritize our time with God. I don’t think of it as you stated it as often as I should. But it’s why He gives us numerous commandments in the bible to love the lord your God with all your heart mind and soul and to have no other gods/idols before him. We can make an idol out of anything and often times we do… Anything we value more than God in our own lives becomes an idol. If we only take the time to draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.
Thanks for your writing. It’s awesome to see other’s perspectives.
I left out the first two words of verse 4 because I thought it sounded weird at first when I read it. I didn’t think it quite fit. I woke up though thinking on that passage, then realized it fit exactly with what you wrote in the blog.
God wants us to be our first love. That’s why James starts out that passage in verse 4 by calling us adulteresses is because if you’ve done any of the things listed before hand in verses 1-3, then you have cheated on God. Also if you seek to have friendship with the world, you are cheating on God. You cannot be friends with the world or live a worldly lifestyle and be in love with God. So who isn’t guilty of that? Unfortunately, we’ve all cheated on God at some point, but the idea is to think of our relationship towards him as a relationship towards a spouse. We should all prioritize that relationship, just as one would prioritize their relationship with their spouse.
That’s what marriage is, it is symbolic of our relationship with our God. It’s symbolic of the relationship God has between Christ and the church. If you notice the term James uses is feminine. That’s because Christ is the groom and the church is the bride. He’s referring to Paul’s teachings in Ephesians 5.
Brent, thank you for your responses and Biblical references! I guess we are all guilty at time of not prioritizing God the way we should but I’m so thankful that He is always there for us and loves us more than we can fathom! Take care!