FIRST THINGS FIRST

Romans 14:17 Ever feel that your day was rather empty or worthless? Sometimes we are too busy on our treadmill of life to even notice how we lack peace and joy? It could be that we have rushed into our day without even a moment of reflection and prayer. Busy mornings are common among us. Long commutes to work, fighting rush hour traffic, trying to remember everything needed for the day, trying to keep up on bills, relationships, it’s a “mad, mad world” as someone once said. Believers must take time to connect with God, and unless we do, we will not feel that peace and joy in the Holy Ghost that we long for. Notice how Paul gets things in the right order: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Righteousness, or a right heart and subsequent right decision making is required before we feel that peace and joy. I heard a preacher once tell of his hard working successful father. He said to his son, “always start your day doing the hardest thing first, then your day will go so much better”. For some of us, a bended knee and taking time to read the Word can be hard because our flesh fights against it. It is foreign to our flesh and will be until we have our flesh under control, which is a daily struggle. Even Paul said, “I die daily”. It may never be real easy to put God first, but the things that we desire so deeply in our hearts cannot be attained unless we do.