I have a daily routine in the morning that I get up a little early, read some scripture, pray, and listen to some worship music. And if I don’t get my daily dose of God, I get cranky! Not spending time with God in the morning and filling my head with his truths and love makes me absolutely MISERABLE! But even knowing myself, and knowing this fact, I still find myself putting off my quiet time with God and making excuses to myself for not spending more time with Him.
My brain feels so jammed with information, schedules, and things I need to get done that God often takes a backseat. I thought, ‘if I just get all of this done then I will have some quiet time, and I’ll feel better.’ But anyone can see the flaw in this plan, because as soon as I finish one thing, five more items get added to the to do list.
So I have been hastily reading the bible for five minutes before class or saying a quick ten second prayer every other day. But five minutes with God just isn’t enough to satisfy me. And God wont accept being second priority in my life as I realized while reading 2nd Samuel.
In 2nd Samuel 24:18 King David is told to make an alter to the Lord. So he goes to a threshing floor and the man he is buying it from offers him everything he wants for free. Sounds great right? Wrong. I reread this sentence a couple of times, because I so much felt God talking to me through it. David says something that really made me stop and think about my life.
He says in verse 24, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
For David, offering to the Lord free items, would be too easy, too convenient. This verse convicted me and made me realized that I had only been willing to give to God when it was convenient for me, when it cost me nothing. Then I’m reminding of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, the sacrifice that cost Him EVERYTHING. Jesus sacrificed his life and I wont sacrifice an hour of sleep? Hmm, I’m thinking maybe my priority’s are out of order.
This passage made me think all the way back to Genesis 23 to the story of Abraham burying Sarah. A man offers to give him a free cave where he can bury her. But just like David, Abraham refuses to accept the free gift. He loved his wife so much that he wanted to honor her by giving of himself. If this man loves his wife so much to give of himself for her while she is dead, how much more should we honor and give to our God?
Another Bible passage that talks about offering up the very best of ourselves is found in Genesis with the story of the very first ever sibling rivalry. Abel brought God the very best of his flock, while Cain simply brought some of the fruits of the soil. We see that Abel brought God the best he had, while Cain’s heart wasn’t really in it.
And God see’s what’s in our hearts, every motive and every intention. God would not accept Cain’s offering because he wanted more from him, he wanted more from his son.
I want God to want more from me. I don’t want to treat God as if I don’t need Him, because I most definitely do. The things that we spend the most time doing are the things that we are most passionate about. Just like the things we spend the most time thinking about are what our lives will reflect.
If we claim that Jesus is our savior then He should be the thing that we invest the most time in. Especially when its not easy, especially when it cost us something.
Its not always easy to give God time, energy, and resources. There are times when I’ve had a hard day or I’m in a bad mood and I don’t feel like reading the bible or talking to God. But that’s when it means the most. We are to give of ourselves to God until we don’t have anything left to give.
Since I love love love music, I’m going to post a song at the end of every blog that I think you should check out.
So song recommendation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM4RjgRyieQ
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