Monday, November 17, 2008

"Last Place"

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." Revelation 22:13

The Lord tells us that He is the first and the last, but just because He refers to Himself as the "last" doesn't mean we are to place Him "last" in our lives. Many put Him in "last" place in their lives. He is the "last" place they go when they need help. He is the "last" resort. He is the "last" one they seek counsel from. He is the "last" on their list of resources. This is by no means what He means when He says that He is the "last".

Placing Him only in last place in our lives is the source of many of our problems. If we would seek Him first, instead of last, we would not have as much confusion in our lives and many problems we face could have been avoided. If we put Him first, we would have a greater measure of peace because He would lead us in the way that we should go. If we place Him first we could save ourselves a lot of pain and heartache. Some of the "stupid" (yes, I said stupid) things that we do we wouldn't do because we would have received His wise counsel.

Abraham wound up with an Ishmael because he didn't seek God first- he listened to his wife instead. We too wind up with an "Ishmael" when we don't give God first place in our (all our) decisions. When we assume that this is God's plan instead of seeking Him to find out, when we lean to our own understanding instead acknowledging Him, when we think we can handle the situation instead of asking God about it, we wind up with something painful, something bigger than we can handle, something that brings conflict into our homes, distress to our hearts, weariness, grief, robs us of peace or even brings destruction in the long run.

What place are you giving Him in your life? Is He first or last? Is He last only- after you have already made your own decisions or only after you need Him to fix the mess you've made? We must not forget that God is "first" also and should be given first place and not last place only.

Have a great day. There is only one place that we should place God in our lives-- first... and last... and everywhere in between.

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