If God Isn't First, Expect The Worst

37Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment.
Matthew 22:37-38 NIV

If God isn’t FIRST, expect the WORST.

I believe I would’ve been able to avoid a LOT of hard times in my life had I known this simple, yet profound principle. Unfortunately, I was too stubborn, too stupid, and too selfish to see it. I was too busy doing what I wanted, when I wanted, and how I wanted. Granted, my vision was probably blurred a bit from the pain I was holding onto from past experiences–how could a loving, ALL-POWERFUL God let those horrible things happen to me? Why would I put a God like THAT first in my life?

So, I went through life searching for something to fill a void in my life that only God could fill (believe me I tried EVERYTHING to fill it). I tried alcohol. I tried drugs. I tried sex. I tried drugs again. I tried video games. All the time thinking I was running toward something, chasing after something to give me meaning and satisfaction, when really, I was running FROM something or should I say SOMEONE. I had a God-sized hole that I was trying to fill with things that kept coming up short and leaving me empty.

‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

That’s just how BIG the hole is. God’s like I want your heart, soul, AND you mind. Basically, I want your EVERYTHING! But God… But…

If God isn’t first, expect the worst.

Nick, my marriage is failing.
Nick, my kids wanting nothing to do with me.
Nick, my job is going nowhere.

My response: where does God fit in the picture? Is He a PRIORITY or an EMERGENCY? Have you left any room for God? Jesus said, “Love the LORD your God…” Is He LORD of your life, relationships, and circumstances?

God wants the BEST for you. You may not FEEL like it at times (typically when you’re so overwhelmed by the stresses of life), but God LOVES you and wants to give the very BEST to you! God is a BIG God. He’s a God of the IMPOSSIBLE, but I don’t think He’s going to spend all His time scrambling around trying to make sure things work out FOR you when you DON’T want it. If God is #2, you might as well be saying, “God, I don’t want it. Thanks, but no thanks.” Something’s gotta change and it’s NOT God.

God, if you’d only try HARDER! Seriously?!? What’s left for Him to do? What’s left for Him to give that He hasn’t already? Stop running FROM Him. Start running TO Him. God’s love satisfies FULLY, relationships only TEMPORARILY. You can spend the rest of your life hopping from bed to bed thinking you’ll find what you’re looking for… OR you can call on the God who CREATED you and calls you His son or daughter. Don’t settle for anything less.

If God isn’t first, expect the worst.