God is the primary thought of a disciple

The other day the Lord placed in my spirit that we must be very careful that we do not treat the Lord as an afterthought. If we look at the definition of an afterthought, it means "a later thought," thus a "reflection after an act," or it can also be something not thought of originally, thus something secondary. The question is, therefore, is God our first thought in all matters? For the Lord said in Matthew 6 in the Lord’s Prayer that we must pray for God’s Kingdom to come and His will to be done. Thus, His Kingdom and Will take top priority, and upon such matters, we must reflect. In the same chapter, the Lord said we must FIRST seek His Kingdom and His righteousness. The Amplified Bible translates it as follows: “33 But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.” It is important to note the word “BUT”, for it precedes verse 31 and 32 that reads: “31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” In Matthew 6 we are thus urged to first consider God’s Kingdom and God’s Ways (His righteousness) above all else, even above our earthly needs, wants desires, and yes, even our will. If we make God an afterthought, then our needs, our will and our ways takes priority above God’s Kingdom. It says in “Philippians 4:8: Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Yes, everything that is good, noble and pure – thus of God – must be our main concern and deserves all our attention and effort. Psalm 1 says: “1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” The way of righteousness is to consider God’s Word and His Truth above all else. It is to seek God’s path of holiness, purity and to walk in the ways of what is right and to depart from the ways of wickedness. Take note to “mediate upon something” is to THINK about (something) carefully. God’s Word should be our first thought in all that we do. God’s Truth should be what preoccupies our thoughts and it should dictate our path all the time, for it leads us in the ways of His Truth. Thus it says in Psalm 119:105 that “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” To treat God as an afterthought is to place our THOUGHTS primarily on our will, to seek after our kingdom and to seek after our truth. We also read in “Joshua 1:8: This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Yes, God’s Word and His Ways must be our primary focus. For then we shall prosper in spirit, soul and body. Does His Word truly capture our attention? Does God have our attention all the time? For Jesus said in “Matthew 4:4: But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’” To seek after God’s Kingdom, thus to pursue it and to pray for His will to be done, primarily places focus on the need to follow God primarily when it comes to our conduct, speech and thought. Paul said to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12: Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” We can only do as Paul urges when God is not an afterthought but saturates our entire being and our very reason for existence. Jesus said in “Luke 9:23: Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” If we truly want to follow and serve God, He must be our main focus, our soul desire and our yearning every day. His Kingdom must take complete priority above all. This is the way of the disciple. This is why it so important that we are completely led by the Spirit of God, for the Spirit of God leads us in all truth (John 16), and by the Spirit of God, we are led in the knowledge, understanding and wisdom of the Kingdom. Galatians 5:25 says “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” If we keep in step with the Spirit, we shall make God our highest priority. It says in “1 Corinthians 2: 16 for “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” We can truly only know the mind of Christ, thus His will and ways and discern His purpose, when we truly walk by the Spirit of the Lord (Romans 8) and when we abide in the Lord (John 15). In Revelations 2, the church in Ephesus was told that they had left their first love. God is and should always be our First Love. The greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind. Thus, we must seek the Lord all the time, meditate on His Word and He must thus be on our mind from morning to night. All that we do flows from our relationship with God. For God to be our priority means He deserves our time, our energy and our devotion. He must never be secondary in our thoughts, in our decisions, in our conduct or in ways we walk. He must be our primary source of delight, hope, and joy. He must be the primary reason for our existence, and our primary motivation to shine His light in a dark world. God should never be an afterthought, but simply THE thought first thing in the morning and in the evening. As a last thought, David wrote the following in “Psalm 63: O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. 4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. 5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. 6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. 7 Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. 8 My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.” Do we truly thirst for God? Do we meditate upon Him and His Word day and night? Do we long to be in His Presence, abiding and resting? For in His Presence we find our joy, hope and strength. Yes, let us seek God above all else, for He is worthy of our praises day and night!