See the Way My Schedule is Set Up....

Mental Priority List

So I am writing this post from the depths of my heart. I literally could not sleep tonight because God revealed something to me. Here’s the story of my insomnia:

I woke up this morning late and had to run some errands. I wasn’t feeling well AT ALL. I came home and just wanted to sleep, so naturally, I did. I then woke up to a text from my mother asking if I wanted to come eat lunch with her and run MORE errands... So I did. I went about today running around, and as I was running, I realized... I had forgotten to spend time with God this morning. Crap. Then I just put it off and said that I was going to do it later, when I got a chance. Super fast-forward to me about to try and doze off... I couldn’t. Then I heard God whisper, “Why can’t you sleep, Analise?” Then I said to myself, "Oh, I forgot to do something"... then I ran off to do something or the other. Then God said to me a little louder, “Aren’t you forgetting something else?” Then I made sure that my room was properly fixed. Then, my God, my jealous (Exodus 34:14) Father, said, “Analise, why have you still not made time for me???”

There it is. I had pushed everything in front of the person who matters most. I just want to give out a little disclaimer about how I am NOT PERFECT. I am not the “model Christian”... I am learning to get better and better at this just like everyone else is... So, realizing that I had tried to go to sleep without talking to my one true love is shameful... But God chased me down with insomnia, and here I am writing to you guys. 

With that said, I just want to urge everyone to look at their priorities... Got your little mental list out? Good. Now I know that we say God is at the absolute top of our list, because we want him to be there...But being honest with yourself... Is God at the top? 

Or... 

- Do we sometimes get too lazy to spend some QT (quality time for those of us that don’t know) with our Creator?

- Do we sometimes conform, knowingly, because we don’t want anyone to think that we have become “too Christian”... For instance, we only listen to Christian music when we are by ourselves, but when we get with “that friend” (you all have one!!) we are fine with listening to whatever (if it goes against everything you believe in) they are listening to? We don’t bother to ask them to put on something else, but we listen to it and even nod our heads to the mindlessness (I am saying this because I did it!) 

- Do we sometimes bombard God with requests and forget to spend time with him JUST BECAUSE?

- Do we sometimes want something SO BADLY that when we finally get whatever “it” is, we forget all about God?

- Do we act one way in church, and another way when we are outside of church?

- Will we do “whatever it takes” to get to that position we want to be in? CEO of a Mega-Corporation, Married to our very own Denzel Washington (Praise God for his life), #1 on Billboard 100 charts, Best doctor ever in the history of ever, Richer than King Solomon, [Fill in ridiculously awesome goal here]...Even if this “whatever it takes” is something that God OBVIOUSLY doesn’t want us to do?

Look, I don’t know what your struggle is. Examine yourself, and be real with yourself. God already knows that something is more important than he is.... So now, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? Are you going to continue to allow this thing, whatever it is, to be your idol? (Anything that comes before God is an idol)

Realizing that something may be taking your focus away from God is half the battle. Now, you can make a genuine effort (with Holy Spirit’s help) to beat whatever it is, to the ground, then spit on it, then do a Rocky dance, (complete with music from the Titan Marching Band, sorry Madison Central) after you have conquered it. 

Let me help you understand why it is so important for you to do this Rocky dance after you have beaten this thing into the ground... 

You need God more than you need air. You need God more than you need water. Just think about it... Think of how you would feel after a day of no water... After even a minute of no air (if you are fond of doing experiments on yourself as our sister, Kim, is, go ahead...but please don’t hurt yourself). 

Seriously, if you do not FEED your spirit with God... it starves... and all your body has to live on is flesh... which we know is death. (Romans 8:13)

So, I then urge you, brothers and sisters (Paul voice)... Put God at the TOP of your priorities. Make God numero uno, the head honcho, the Boss. Choose God, every, single, time. And most importantly, FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM and who he is!! If you can love a flawed, fallen human... Imagine how we should love UTTER PERFECTION.  This is not a post with a specific, targeted topic... I just needed you guys to understand that YOU CANNOT GO A DAY WITHOUT GOD. Don’t put it off!! Spend time with God right now, as if your life depends on it... because it does. 

1. Make sure that it is ALWAYS God’s will be done. No matter what it looks like, we can trust God to do what is best for us. He is the only person who is even trustworthy, for real. (Psalm 118:8)
2. Choose God and what he wants. Your relationship with him needs to be the most protected and treasured thing you have. Stay away from things that you KNOW hurt your relationship. Constantly do things that build that relationship up. (Psalm 37:5)
3. Be consistent. The relationship with God that changes lives is more than a one-night/morning thing. It is that every-single-day-keep-coming-back-because-I-like-God’s-face kind of relationship. Remember, if God gave us whatever we wanted right off the bat all the time... we would leave and go about our business and forget about him. God doesn’t want that (and he is not a broken vending machine)!! He wants us to be close to him!! He wants us under his wings and absolutely in love with him, as he is with us. (Matthew 7:7 AMP)

How do you go about doing any of these things?? Literally, all you have to do is what Jesus said to do... Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, every fiber of your being... and all this will come, naturally (Matthew 22:37). Strive to love God as he loves you, and maybe we will hit the tip of the iceberg of his INSANE love for us.

I love you guys! Can’t wait to see you soon :)

Love,

Lise, A4C

P.S. I know it is super late, but some of us are meeting at the Starbucks in the Renaissance tomorrow (Friday, July 19) at 10:30. Join us! It will be fun!

P.P.S. Check us out on Facebook- A4C New Hope

Twitter- @a4cnewhope

Blog- a4cnewhope.blogspot.com

P.P.P.S. Our Bible Study, BRiO, is Wednesday Night in the Chapel at New Hope Baptist Church at 6:30! Be there for fellowship and real talk! See you soon!