Finding The Courage To Put God First, Today

Please join us at ICDevos in welcoming our newest Devotional Team Writer, Tracy Knowlton to the Cafe!

“…The Lord will give them over to you and you shall deal with them in full accord with the command that I have given to you.  Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 30:20, NRSV

The day hit like a hurricane.  More than other days, this one had to be good.  Appointments set the pace and the grand finale was a women’s event at my church.  So much effort had gone into planning each moment of this potluck/speaker/promotional event, and I was determined to pull it off without a hitch.

I put on my superhero cape and headed for a cup of coffee.

To my surprise, something stopped me, and my swirling accessory, dead in our tracks.  It was an inkling that if I did not kneel beside my bed at that moment, my morning would go by without any time with the Lord.  At the risk of accomplishing less, I knelt down.

Oh, how the words flowed.  I told God of my task list.  I told Him of my vast responsibilities and my desire to meet each one.  I told Him how important my efforts were in the grand scheme of things and how grateful I was that He trusted me in these areas.  God was really teaching me to do it all!

Through the stillness of the morning and the noisiness of my mouth, one phrase vibrated through my consciousness.

“Have the courage to put me first today”.

And, isn’t that what I want to do everyday God?  Sanctimoniously, I told Him of my desire to always have Him first in everything I do.

That’s not what He was saying.

God was calling me a coward.  Well, not in so many words, but the opposite of courage is fear.  My superhero cape wilted as I realized my whole day was an obstacle course in avoiding failure.  My true motivation, under the guise of busyness, was simply fear.

God tells us that we are more than conquerors.  He promises to give our tasks over to us, as long as we keep putting Him first (following His commands).  I do not say, “put Him first”, in a light way.  This means that I take my task list every day and treat it more like a suggestion.  I admit that despite the apparent deadlines and the looming responsibilities, God will have His way.  This is not only because He is God, this is also because I am human.  I serve His kingdom and the events, therein.

So, if catastrophe hit and I missed each appointment, a God-appointed person would be present to pick up this task, or some lucky person would have a free hour.  Even if I never arrived at the women’s event, it would still happen because our team was faithful to the planning of it.

Taking off the superhero cape and dealing only with an appointed life takes more courage than anything else that I do.  I just did not have a word for it until now.  There is something comforting in my plans, probably because I can see them coming; but, that is not a kingdom life.

Kingdom life is walking, without dread, where God walks and welcoming, boldly, what God welcomes.  It is making room for obedience to the small and large unplanned appointments in life.  It is asking Him what His plan for the day looks like, and being flexible enough to put our plans, and everyone’s plans for us, aside.

Have the courage to put God first.  What will that take today?

Tracy Knowlton

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