To be completely honest, I slacked in prioritizing my relationship with God as 2023 ended.
I wrapped up my busiest semester of college yet, came home for a winter break filled with family get-togethers and Christmas festivities, and completely neglected spending time with God. I even had an advent bible reading plan I was really looking forward to reading, but never got around to.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the holiday season. I love getting to gather together with family and friends, attending the candlelight service at church, baking cookies, watching Christmas movies, all of it.
But this year, I had a really hard time being present and I think a large part of that was because I wasn’t reading my bible daily. Not only that, I was hardly speaking to God each day.
I would usually end my night with a “sorry God, I’ll try better tomorrow.” kinda prayer, but didn’t change anything the next day.
If you’ve experienced something similar, you are not alone.
After all the holiday craziness settled down I thought, “Okay, God, I need to get back on track with you. I miss you.”
I started writing down some habits I want to implement this year (that I will share later in this post) that will help me put God FIRST. Before I share those tips, I want to answer the question:
Why put God first in your life?
Here are some reasons I choose to put God first in my life:
I want God to be first in my life because He already is whether I recognize it or not. He is God. He is holy. He is the author of my life.
I want God to be first in my life because Scripture tells us to.
Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before me.
Deuteronomy 5:8-9 You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind, or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.
Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
I put God first in my life because He is the ultimate authority in my life. Why would I make Him an afterthought?
I want God to be first in my life because quite literally everything I do flows from my relationship (or lack thereof) with Him. My attitude and outlook on life, my relationships with others, my temperament, my thoughts, my words, my actions- it all flows from how I’m doing with Him.
I want God to be first in my life because I have decisions to make. Big and small. And I seek Him in those decisions over all other sources.
Now that you know why it’s important to put God first in your life, ask yourself:
If God is not first in my life, what or who is?
Inventory these things to indicate what is taking priority in your life:
Take a look at your calendar– what or who are you filling your time with?
Take a look at your screen time– what do you spend hours consuming?
Take a look at your thoughts– what or who do you think about most?
Take a look at your words– what or who do you talk about a lot?
The answers to these questions may not be bad in and of themselves (schoolwork, a relationship, a job promotion, etc. can be very good things to be thinking about), but when they have taken a place above God, they have become an idol.
So, What does putting God first look like?
It looks like giving God your first.
Remove the idols you just identified and put God in their place.
Give God the first of your time. Start your day by opening His word. I think we as Christians way overcomplicate reading the Bible. I have many more blog posts on this topic coming this year.
Give God the first of your finances. If money is something you identified as what you think or talk about a lot, remember the biblical principle of tithing and that God can do more with your 10% than you can with 100%.
Give God the first of your thoughts. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to pray without ceasing! Talk to God throughout your day. Invite Him into the decisions you make. This goes back to giving Him your time– let Him tell you how to spend your time! It’s not yours, anyway- He gave it to you by letting you live another day, so live for Him.
Give God the first of your relationships. Submit your relationships to God. Friendships, family relationships, romantic relationships- put it all in His hands and trust that His plan is better than yours.
Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Practically, there are some pretty simple steps you can implement to put God first in your life.
1. Schedule time to read your bible each day. Don't worry about following a specific plan (although the YouVersion Bible App has great reading plans you can follow if that's your thing ;)) or reading chapters a day. Just read and meditate on God's word. Start small by seeing how much you can read in 5 minutes one morning, then 10 the next, then 15, and so on. Read: 3 Ways to Simplify Reading Your Bible 2. Go to church every week. This is a pretty simple step- make the decision, mark it on your calendar, and do it. I promise it will refresh you to take a few hours out of your Sunday to gather with fellow believers, enter into corporate worship, receive a message, and fellowship with others. Read: Finding a Church in Your College Town 3. Take advantage of times to listen to worship music. I'm not one of those people that's going to tell you to cut out secular music entirely, but I am telling you to think about this: you only have so much time in a day. Spend that time worshiping. When you're walking from class to class, throw on some headphones and worship. When you're driving- worship, Working out- worship. Showering- worship. Folding laundry- worship. Washing dishes- worship. I'm telling you, it will change your mindset and you'll find yourself focusing on God more throughout the week. 4. Pray every night. "But Emma, you just said to pray without ceasing." Yes, we should pray all the time. But especially at night when our thoughts can run rampant, it is so helpful to remember God. Remember that He is the creator of the universe and holds all things together. He's got you. He's on your side. Pray for peace- pray that the Lord would settle your mind and prepare your heart for tomorrow. Pray for your friends, family, any and all your worries-get into the habit of bringing it all to Him. And watch as the Lord replaces your thoughts of worry with thoughts of Him and His goodness.
Praying that God will fill your thoughts this year and that you will have a blessed 2024. May God be FIRST in your life this year.