Luke 12v16-21: “Then he spoke a parable to them, saying: The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully and he thought within himself, saying, ‘what shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this; I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Where is God in your scheme of things? What position does God take on your scale of preference? Is He the first, second, third or last? The answers we will get to this question differs from one person to the other but one thing will be clear and that is the position God occupies in our lives! This is the major lesson in the story of the Rich Fool in (Luke 12v16-21). Apparently, God was not first in his life and this accounts for why God was not in his thoughts and plans. The same is also true in our world today. Many do not see the need to put God first in their lives; but as we progress in this study, it will become clearer to you the reasons God should come first (Deuteronomy 6v5-6).
Does it really matter the position that God occupies in our lives? The answer, if you may ask Him, is “yes.” It matters which position God occupies in our lives because the position God occupies in your life will determine:
a. Who comes first, second or last in your life. Is God first or last? What is His place in your life? (Luke 10v38-42).
b. What matters to you or what is important or relevant to you? Is God paramount to you? Or is it something or someone else?
c. The extent to which you will go i.e. the kind of sacrifice you are ready to make (2Corinthians 12v15). Are you ready to spend or be spent?
d. The level of your yieldedness or submissiveness to God. When it comes to surrendering to God is it total, partial or zero? The rich fool in Luke 12v16-21 was not fully yielded to God.
e. The extent to which God is committed to you! Those who put him first will never come last (1 Samuel 2v30).
f. The kind of blessings you will experience. There are blessings and there are blessings (1Chronicles 4v9).
g. The extent to which you love God. Putting God first is a manifestation of your love for Him (John 14 v 15).
Dearly beloved, how will you rate yourself with regards to putting God first? It’s time to step up on the scale (2 Corinthians 13 v 5)
Other Scriptural References: (Proverbs 3v9-10; John 21v15-17; Matthew 6:33; Proverbs 3v6; Colossians 3v17; Matthew 10v38-39, 15v8; Revelations 2v4; 1Corinthians 10v31).
Prayer for Today: Father, I make a commitment today to put you in the rightful place in my life, ways and works. I make this pledge in the name of Jesus, amen.
CONFESSION: Lord, I realize the importance of putting you first in my life. Therefore, I declare your lordship over every area of my life. I declare you are lord and master over my spirit, soul, body, business, family, academics, finances and other areas of my life. I acknowledge you as first in my life from today and every other thing or person is secondary. Blessed Holy Spirit, help me to stay true to my commitment in Jesus name, amen.
Yemi Adeoti is a pastor, teacher, life coach and mentor & also a prolific writer.
Thank you sir for this inspiring message. I have learnt to put God for not middle or last.
It is the best decision