In my spirit, I hear these words occasionally, and when I do, guilt feelings abound in me.  In my present job, I wake up at 3:30am, shower, and then I try to spend a half hour with the Lord reading His Word...the Bible.  I first sit down in the front room, the lights off, and open the window so I can hear the sounds of nature, although at 4am, even the birds are still asleep.  But...by the time I sit there a few minutes, and then begin reading His Word, a half hour is up.  I then have to get up, get ready for work, and off I go.  It's about a 30 minute drive to work.  Of course, on week-ends, I try to spend more time with Him.  I'm not as rushed as I am on a weekday.

My job involves driving about 300 miles daily, and although I do spend most of that time listening to Christian radio, to such Godly men as Chuck Swindoll, Adrian Rogers, David Jeremiah, Dr. James Dobson and others, its not the same as quality spending time with just our Lord and Savior.

"Sit with me awhile"

There are those words again.  Looking back, how many times have I put MY schedule, MY priorities, My things that I feel are important ahead of Him?

"Sorry, Father, but I have to run or I'll be late for work.  I should have gotten up a half hour earlier so I could spend more time with you today.  I'll do that tomorrow, but I have to run now.  I have a job to worry about."

The truth is, tomorrow may never come or if it does, I'll do the very same thing again.  "Luke 12:34 says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also".  I sadly realize that sometimes I put more value on MY job, MY paycheck, MY things than I do the Lord, and He IS THE ONE that gave these things to me in the first place.  Another scripture which comes to mind is Colossians 3:2 "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth".

Many of my days so full of activity that there is no "time-out" for the most important things.  Most tragic of all is that sometimes I actually feel I have no time for God.  In effect, I sometimes say, "God, You will understand... I need to do this to feed my family, to be social, to enjoy my life, to better myself, to benefit my children."  But none of these count, as God is FIRST first.  And first is first.

I am finally learning what I should have known all along...God comes FIRST. If we want the best that God has to offer, then WE have to offer Him the best WE have to offer, and for me, that means starting a new day with God first thing in the morning.  For you, it might be a different time, but the point is, PUT GOD FIRST!

I also have to use my time more wisely.  If that means going to bed a half hour earlier the night before so I can get up a half hour earlier to spend with the Lord, the so be it!  After all, do we control time or does it control us? Where are my priorities?  If I want to start a new day filled with the Holy Spirit, God's protection and Godly wisdom and guidance to lead me through this new day, then I MUST plan on quality time with my Father in Heaven, not "leftover" time.  And I have to stop saying, "Sorry, Lord, but I promise I will do it tomorrow.....", as tomorrow may not come.  God's Word is solid, like a rock.  I can depend on it.  So I must make my word the same.  If I say I am going to do something, then follow through and do it!

And for me, just a half hour in the morning is not enough.  When I get home from work, instead of turning on the television right away, I want to spend some more time with God.  After all, He sacrificed His only Son, Jesus Christ for me and you.  Can't I even make a smaller sacrifice for Him, like shutting of the television or radio and just sitting with Him for awhile, and letting Him know how the day went.

Sit with me awhile.

There are those words again.  Only this time, the guilt feelings associated with those words are beginning to fade away.  "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33


Rick Harris
September 2, 2006