Proverbs 3:6 “In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success."

I have learned that if I will put God first my life is a whole lot easier.  The days that I get up early and deliberately spend time in God’s word and talking and listening to Him may be filled with challenges and mountains, but they are also, filled with amazing peace, contentment, and awe as those challenges are answered and the mountains climbed.  You may say to me, that would happen anyway, however, I have found the opposite to be true.  On the days when instead of getting up and meeting with my Creator God I roll over to catch a little bit more sleep, on those days, chaos seems to reign.  Challenges come and I don’t have quite the resources to match them.

 Scripture tells us “Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth.  Meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful”.  Joshua 1:8   Note that we are not passive participants in this process.  We are not told to do nothing.  We have part to play.  We are called to meditate on God’s law and then to be careful to do EVERYTHING written in it. 

What does meditate mean?  I looked it up and I found two definitions that seem to apply.  The first “think deeply or carefully about something” requires that I set aside some time to do this.  The only quiet time in my life where I have the solitude to “think deeply” is early in the morning before the day starts to run and the demands on my attention come fast and furious.  The second definition “plan mentally and consider” also requires that I set aside time without distractions to do this. 

You may say to me, “I don’t have time to meditate on God’s word”.  In today’s world for many of us this is so true.  However, the risk to not making the time for this step is huge.  The rest of our promise hinges on this first part.  We are told to meditate on God’s word and then be careful to do everything written in it.  Our action is first to be preceded by our meditation.  In my experience the meditation on God’s word is what enables me to submit myself to His will so that I can do what He tells me to do.  In the natural I am human and want to myself and my interests first.  In His law, God calls us to be other-centered and to at times sacrifice our wants for the good of others.   The good news is that there is another promise in Philippians 2:13 that says “For God is at work within you, helping you to want to obey Him and then helping you to do what He wants.”  I have found that when I take the time in the morning to read God’s word and offer my day to Him, God takes over and organizes my day and provides ALL of the resources I need to get through that day in peace and contentment.

Now here is the best part of this promise!  When we put God first, He “crowns our efforts with success”.  He tells us that when we do what He tells us to do we will be “prosperous and successful.”  I don’t know about you, but to me that sounds like a great deal.  I put Him first, I let Him tell me what to do and when, and He takes over and blesses my efforts with supernatural success.  If you want to see spectacular success in your life, turn it over to God today.  Ask Him what He wants you to do, and then do it.  God is not a dictator.  He won’t force Himself on you.  But if you will take this one simple step, ask Him to be the master of your life and commit to spending a few moments in His word each morning, tell Him your thoughts, and listen as He speaks to you your life will dramatically change.  Be faithful to do this and you will see problems solved, favor and blessings beyond what you can imagine, and have peace like you have never know.

Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart”.