What’s the first thing you do in the morning?
Whatever it is, it's important to you. That's why you do it first. That's also why first things can be a struggle and ought to be chosen carefully.
So, what's your morning routine? After showering, I first try to grab my Bible and journal and head off to a comfortable old chair for my daily quiet time. For the most part, I'm disciplined. But the battle for first things is never fully won.
I am easily derailed by an "urgent need" to dash off an email on my phone—at 5:45 in the morning (gimme a break, right?). Or, I can be so distracted mentally that I have little capacity to pray. Or—because I'm committed to a 45-minute walk every morning—threatening skies can tempt me to walk first and pray later. But "later" somehow never arrives.
Indeed, the battle for first things is never fully won. And there's something wrong when my step count is more important than keeping in step with the Holy Spirit. In fact, there's something wrong every time we shut out the Voice whispering to us that we should be doing something we've placed lower (later) on the list.
In Matthew 6:33, Jesus tells us, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." Meaning that everything else is secondary. I'm sure there's some re-ordering of the soul that needs to take place in my life. Maybe yours, too.
Matthew Henry says it best: “First things belong to Him who is first.”
Lord—
Would you help us know what it means—today and every day—to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness? We ask you to shout rather than whisper. For our souls are hard of hearing.
Amen.