"
I sometimes run to God as if He’s a celestial Wal-Mart purposed to satisfy my every want.
Change my family.
Fix my job problem, God.
Do it my way!
Instead of leaning in to hear the whispered will of the Lord, I selfishly shout my will, my desires and my demands.
Lord, give me relief from life-pressures instead of giving me strength to endure them.
When I’m desperate to fill my mega-sized heart-cart with things that I want, I rob myself of what really matters: the pursuit of God and the blessings found in Him alone.
The truth is that even those of us who are Jesus-girls, you know… good Christian women who strive each day to live for Christ… continually sin and wallow in the shallow, unsatisfying waters of discontentment. We tell God what we’d like Him to do for us so we can be happy and then expect Him to intervene in ways that suit us. We blur the lines between our wants and our needs – between our plans and God’s plans.
In part one of this devotion, we were reminded to rest in God. We looked at His care of the sparrows, considered that God loves us even more than he does the birds of the air, and we were challenged not to worry. Today, we focus on prioritizing God above all else. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus instructs us to seek God first: to look to Him as our Ultimate. Our Portion. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33, ESV)
David modeled this beautifully when he called out to God in the midst of trouble and recognized Him as being enough. I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living” (Psalm 142:5). In Psalm 119, the psalmist recognizes God as his portion and takes the moment of surrender a step further by tethering his satisfaction with obedience. You are my portion, O Lord; I have promised to obey your words. I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise (Psalm 119:57-58).
Life is unpredictable. There will always be days that we want to yell, C’mon, God! Throw me a bone here! I could use a little help, please! It is not a bad thing to call to God in the midst of our struggles. In fact, we should! We must! The big game changer, however, is not God’s presents – but His presence. Refuge from our circumstances and contentment in the midst of them is found in the center of our surrender.
So what’s the connection point between our longings and His provision?
Perhaps the better question is not what but who?
The late pastor and theologian Charles Spurgeon said it this way, “It is not ‘The Lord is partly my portion,’ nor ‘The Lord is in my portion’; but He Himself makes up the sum total of my soul’s inheritance. Within the circumference of that circle lies all that we possess or desire. The Lord is my portion. Not His grace merely, nor His love, nor His covenant, but Yahweh himself.”[i]
Once again, Spurgeon hits the nail on the head. We are distracted cravers when we expect our people, places and things to fill our hearts as only God can. God loves us so much. Why do we forget this all the time? His plan is perfect and we can trust Him. He knows our needs and desires. When we seek Him as the answer instead of for the answer, God enables us to rest in confidence that He’s working on our behalf and in our best interest, to bring glory to Himself through our lives.
Set your list of wants aside today and seek God.
Go before Him with a heart of worship and adoration.
Get lost in His presence.
Remember His mercy.
Relish His grace.
Love Him. Seek Him. Choose Him as your Portion.
Dear Lord,
Please be my Portion.
Forgive me for the times when I seek Your blessings before I seek Your heart.
You are all I need.
In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
FOR YOUR RESPONSE and REFLECTION: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” (Psalm 42:1-2a)
Spend a moment in prayer asking the LORD to increase your thirst for Him.
I co-wrote a song called “Center of Surrender” that invites God to be our Portion in a very personal way. LISTEN to the song and allow the lyric to become the prayer of your heart today.
{CLICK HERE to share the song on Twitter.}
I really love doing life with you. 🙂
LET’S COMMIT to seek God today!
Ready? If so, leave a comment on my blog saying, “I am seeking God!”
Blessings in His Grace,
GWEN
[i] Spurgeon, C. H. (2006). Morning and evening: Daily readings (Complete and unabridged; New modern edition.). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.
Comments 50
I’m seeking a deeper more intimate relationship with God, where trust, no matter how it looks, feel or seems is what I do.
I am seeking God. Thank u for your teachings they are truly a blessing I look fwd to reading every day. & your songs are so uplifting. Thank you.
I am seeking God!
I am “as the deer” who “pants for streams of water” in Psalm 42:1-2 “so my soul thirsts for God, for the living God”.
I am seeking God!
Love, love, love this!!! I am seeking Him ….. God bless!!!
I am seeking God! Center of Surrender is powerful!
I am seeking God whole heartedly..thank you lord for loving me..
I am seeking you God!
I want to surrender and receive more of God on a daily basis. Not my wants but what he wants of me.
I want to seek God with all my heart! Sometimes I don’t know how and I need the strength
I am seeking God with all my soul, my mind and my heart
I am seeking God. I am a believer but fall so short.. Thank you for your prayers
Love your song…Let you be the Center of my surrender. My pray recently has been that God would inspire me to yearn to read His word ….the Bible. This song says my exact feelings! Thank you Gwen!
I am seeking God! There is no better place to be than in his presence. The hard part is letting that little bit of time stretch over my whole day and choosing to stay there.
a must read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp….finding God and giving thanks in the small and simple things….so awesome
I am seeking God!
I am seeking God!! I am so guilty of praying to God daily and giving him my “to do or to fix” list. Today I am just going to love and appreciate him!! Thanks for the spiritual check!
I am seeking God NOW. I’m in a horrible job situation and need to be removed from, but it’s proving to be more difficult. I’m trying to be patient and wait on Him. Prayers please.
I am seeking You God!! ❤️
I am seeking God! Please pray for my unbelief at times.
I AM SEEKING GOD!
I am seeking God, I am seeking Him! I am seeking God…
Thanks for the song.
I am seeking God. I love him soooooo much; because, He first loved me soooooooooooooo much more. Thank you my dear sister Gwen for this lovely song. I do surrender to my dear father my all for His all which is the most beautiful thing in heaven and earth. God bless you
Hey Gwen, thanks again for the song. It reminds me of my own clutter and what a job God has to do within me
Thanks sooo much for this song. I am and will continue to seek God. Blessings
I am seeking God!
I am seeking God…..Thank you for this message the song is beautiful ,..What a mighty good GOD i have.
I want God to be my center of my surrender….
I am seeking God also…I am temp and not a full time employee where I am working….I need to remember that God got me this job and I need to serve him and know He is my boss and not me…
Thank you Gwen for this song!!
Lisa J
What a beautiful song! It gives my heart wings!! Thank you for sharing it! God is so great!!
I’m constantly seeking GOD! Matthew 6:33 my favorite scripture. I love your song Center of My Surrender. God’s Continued Blessings
I want God to be the center of my surrender!!
I’m seeking God. Thanks for using you talents to worship Him and encourage us. Love this song!
I seek God!
I am seeking God…..Beautiful Song Gwen…..Thank you
I am seeking my Lord and Savior more! God bless you for the wonderful devotion the last two days! He is ALL I want!
I am seeking God and I want him to be the center of my life. Please pray that I can hear him.
I am seeking God…may He be the center of my surrender,
I pray I can keep seeking God as my Center.
Love that song
I am seeking to center my life around God. It is encouraging to know you have the same struggles. Thank you for sharing and being real.
I’m seeking God. Thank you for the encouragement.
I have just retired and now I have more time to focus on God and his precious love. I want to surrender my all to him. Before retirement I focused on what he could do for me to make my job and my life less stressful. Now I want to make my focus on him and what I can do for him.
Beautiful song, beautiful voice, beautiful heart, Gwen!
God blessings and greetings to you
I pray and ask god to help me to truely understand your message from him. To rest in gods grace. To get (understand) what he wants in my mind and soul. I confess that there are times that I only seek him I order to get him to fix all the mess I created by my bad choices. Seek god first and all shall be added to you.
Amen.
Your daily devotions inspire me. Thank you
Such a beautiful song – I am seeking God to be the center of my life now & forever!
Thank you Gwen for reminding me to seek God’s presence and not the presents and His strength through the journey of life.
I love to read all of Gwen’s daily messages. I also want God to be the center of my life, I am seeking the Lord every day but sometimes I feel like I am getting nowhere. I fear, I doubt, I worry, I stress out. Thank your for always speaking to me Lord through Gwen.
Thank you God for bringing this message to me through Gwen’s words and song. Gwen, this message (yesterday and today combined) brings light and enlightenment. I am seeking God but I recognize now that God sought me first.
I’m seeking God!