Start with God
Start
One of the hardest things in life isn’t finishing. Most often the hardest thing to do is to begin.
Solomon starts the book of Proverbs by telling exactly where to begin. You have to start with God.
“Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.” – Proverbs 1:7 (The Message)
The first step, the very beginning of all of our plans, dreams, and this life, must begin with God. We have been trained to trust in ourselves, to lean on our own understanding; to trust ourselves more than anyone else. In other words, we have been told to start with ourselves. In actuality it is when we come to the end of ourselves that we begin with God. It is when we start with God that real life begins. Solomon tells us that the first step in learning is bowing down to God.
The act of starting with God in everything that we do is the foundation upon which you can build your life. However, it isn’t just a one-time event. Starting with God is something that we should do every day.
There isn’t an aspect of our lives that should not begin with God. Our marriages should begin with God. We stand before Him and utter vows, that if God would help us, we would keep those vows. We dedicate our kids back to God. We start their lives off by consecrating them back to God.
Solomon was teaching a wise lesson because, not only is it good to start with God, God wants us to begin with Him. Starting with God in everything is vital to living a blessed life.
What do you think would happen if you started giving God the first hour of your day, the first day of your week, and the first dime of every dollar? I lost so many of you right there, what an hour, a day, a dime… yep, that’s exactly what I said. Your day needs to start with God. One man said that we should never see the face of man until we have seen the face of God. Starting our day with God sets the tone for the rest of the day.
No doubt you are aware of the Ten Commandments? In those Ten Commandments, nine of them get straight to the point, no fluff, Thou Shalt not kill. Pretty much sums it up and we all agree with it. That’s pretty much how they all go; four to ten words, and obey. However, God gives a ninety-four word instruction on keeping the first day of the week, holy. Why, so many words? It was important. It was the fourth command, “Keep the first day of the week set apart for Me. Make sure you start with Me.”
Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft stated that, “in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient… there is a lot more that I could be doing on a Sunday morning.”
God sees it far differently. As a matter of truth, He had Isaiah write it down for us just to be clear that we should start with Him.
“If you watch your step on the Sabbath and don’t use my holy day for personal advantage, If you treat the sabbath as a day of joy, God’s holy day as a celebration, If you honor it by refusing ‘business as usual,’ making money, running here and there—Then you’ll be free to enjoy God! Oh, I’ll make you ride high and soar above it all.
I’ll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob.” Yes! God says so! – Isaiah 58:12-14 (The Message)
Lastly, we should ensure that our money starts with God; the first dime of every dollar.
“Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.” – Proverbs 3:8-10 (The Message)
Many people want to start giving to God after they have enough. You will never have enough unless you start with God. I learned early on to start with God when it came to my finances. The more I started with God, the more I had when it was finished.
When will you start with God, once you start it’s hard to quit, because the blessings begin when you start.
If not now, when? Sometimes the hardest thing to do is start.
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