Living Right!

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand [anywhere else]; I would rather be a doorkeeper and stand at the threshold in the house of my God than to dwell [at ease] in the tents of wickedness. Psalm 84:10 AMPC

It is important to note that your priorities will always be determined by the focus of your heart.  When a man's life is reviewed in the light of what he does, says and thinks, you will know what he has spent his life focused on. David didn't wake up one morning and be called 'a man after God's heart' simply because of his fine face or figure,  but because of his priorities. Right from the days of the simple task of caring for sheep, he had formed the right relationship with God. Most of the amazing psalms we read about today where written in those days of solitude and quiet, when all he had was the Presence of God. He had learnt the secret of longevity, relevance and impact and he was willing to forsake all, for the sake of this experience. Is that the same for me and you?

Do I have the right priorities and pursuits ? Have the cares of this world taken my eyes off Christ to the grind of daily existence? Do I even crave his Presence anymore? What could have made David write the words of today's extract? I believe first and foremost that nothing beats a personal experience.  People can talk about their encounters, but until you have one that relates to you alone, you can never say those words. Secondly, you must have definite instances where both sides were presented, and there was clear evidence which side was better. Until you have seen both sides, you may not be able to settle with certainty which one you want to follow. When God permits some things to happen to you, testing your faith, commitment and perseverance, the benefits of staying the course to the end gives you the kind of testimony in today's extract. 

When dealing with God, no experience is wasted. Nothing is in vain. God can use anything to teach us the right priorities.  Staying in and with God brings eternal blessings. Do i see all i do as service to God? Do i see my life itself as an offering I must give wholly to God? If all you desire are earthly blessings, there are so many places and options that will give you that. However, if what you want is what God alone can give, then you must seek him out where he is and on his terms, and do what he commands. He will take me as I am, but I cannot seek him on my own terms, in my own way, and expect him to respond. He is God, yet delighted when I come to him as I am.

Check your life again today. What you get is a function of what you put in. If all I have and do is for self fame, I may get it, but at the end of the day, there is an eternal price to pay. Am I sure I can take that risk? Like David, is my heart set on God and what he wants? His time of favour is here.