Two for One - Part One: Number One Priority

The Beautiful IBRP (Instituto Biblico Rio de la Plata)

My personal devotional time with the Lord has been inconsistent since the day I started it. I've had moments of consistency, 40 days here, half a year there. But I always end up faltering, finding other things that seemed more important (sleep, TV time, time with friends, homework, work work, etc.) and lofting them to the top of my priority list. 

Here in IBRP, it's so easy to have a constant, personal devotional time. Granted, there is a requirement of this school that we all start our day by spending personal time with the Lord at 6:20am. But, that's not really the reason I consider it easy. The real reason is that I've finally figured out for myself that my relationship with God has to be my number one priority. 

Everything else CAN, and does, wait. When I "tithe" my time to God - when I give the very first part of my day to my Creator - He recognizes that it's a difficulty I'm overcoming for Him, and blesses the rest of my day. I get so much more done, have so much more energy, and am so much more content now, all because I live believing that my relationship with God is the most important thing in the whole world. Nothing else matters if my relationship with Him isn't happening.

The outward results of this inward change are tremendous. In addition to my morning devotional time, I find myself going to the prayer room at least once a day, and spending 1-2 hours in there, just dwelling in His presence. I'm constantly overjoyed by the fact that Jesus spent so much of his 3.5 years of ministry seeking time with His Father for direction. If Jesus, the only perfect person who ever lived, needed a personal devotional time, how much more do I? And by desiring to be more like Jesus, I get the privilege of resting in my heavenly Father's presence, just like Jesus did! 

My actions and thoughts have changed, due to the way my focus has changed. I don't have a more consistent devotional time because I've developed a new habit. I have a more consistent devotional time because I've completely, and continually, shifted my focus to God. I've not got it all figured out, by any means. I still have to daily remind myself that He is number one. But that said, every day gets easier and easier to cast away all my fears, and to replace them with a love for His presence in my life. It's so cool!