Above All: Have Nothing Before Him

If we are a child of the King, figuratively speaking, God has brought each of us out of the “land of Egypt” – just as He did the Jews - the land of slavery, the land of bondage to sin, to self, to Satan and to the world.  Jesus has paid a high price for our departure by His sacrificial blood shed for us on the cross. Christ willingly gave Himself for us to give Himself to us – “the fullness of Him Who fills everything in every way”.  We are no longer wanting, going around with shaking cups to be filled. Nor are we needy, exhausting ourselves seeking to please – either others or us - no longer slaves of sin but of Him - the Author and Perfecter of our faith.

We desperately need to tune our ears to hear Him. So much “noise” in our world keeps us from listening to His “still, small voice”. Jesus told us, “He who has ears, let him hear”.If we desire to hear the voice of God we need to turn down the volume of all other noises and distractions we are all so prone to listen to and follow. Many times our “good” distractions keep us from hearing His best for our lives and we are the losers when that happens. Also, we often times desire His direction without doing the hard work of quieting ourselves before the Him and therefore missing what He has for us because of our bazillion diversions.  He does not compete with these. He never will. He is to be first by our choice – and He will not force it. Rather He waits for us to be still and quiet ourselves before Him.  We are to seek Him first – learn to listen to His “still small voice” first. He is to be our top priority. He never disappoints nor gives scantily rather He replaces the downcast with joy and overflows our empty cups with life effervescent. Do yourself a favor, be still and listen.