Scripture: “You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ My heart says to you, ‘Your face, Lord, do I seek.'” Psalm 27:8
Devotional: We all have a hunger to know why we’re here. We all have a hunger to be loved and to have passion and purpose in life. We’re designed by God with a seemingly insatiable desire to be loved, passionate and purposeful. Maybe you’ve had a relationship with God for years. Maybe you’re still trying to figure out if God even exists or if you can know him if he does. Wherever you are in relation to God, know that he longs to satisfy those hungers you have. He knows everything about you, and he loves you more than you will ever know. He loves you so much that he has a perfect plan every day to transform your life into one filled with passion, filled with satisfaction and filled with the wonderful peace of his presence.
We all need transformation. God is a God of great transformation. The Bible says in Genesis 2:7 “God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive – a living soul!” Psalm 139:13 states that God knit you together in your mother’s womb. You are wonderfully made. And God didn’t stop there; he desires to bring transformation to you daily!
So how does God desire to bring about that wonderful transformation? I believe the main way is through spending time alone with him every day. No matter where you are in your relationship with God, spending time in his presence encountering his heart will be the catalyst to living a life transformed. Just as the lights in your home have to be connected to a power source to turn on, you have to be connected to God to live a transformed, joy-filled life. He is the only constant source that you have. His nearness to you is the only way you will find lasting satisfaction. Nothing else will supply you with what you need to live the life you truly desire.
That’s what First15 is all about. First15 was created to give you a practical resource to meet God every day. No matter how busy you are, you can set aside fifteen minutes to connect with your Creator and Sustainer. God longs to meet with you. He waits patiently to spend time with you. Think of that! The Creator of the universe, of all things wonderful and good is patiently waiting right now to spend time with you!
The choice of how you will spend this year is entirely up to you. I pray that you would be filled with the longing and strength to spend time with your heavenly Father. I pray that this resource would be helpful in connecting you to God and in satisfying your longings that can only be fulfilled in meeting with him. God has so much grace and help he longs to give you. All it costs you is some time and a willingness to listen and receive all that he would show and give to you. And trust me, he is beyond worth it. He calls you his beloved and is excited for you to know more deeply “the breadth and length and height and depth” of his great love for you (Ephesians 3:18).
Spend some time in worship receiving his great love for you. Answer the call to seek his face as David did in Psalm 27 saying, “Your face Lord do I seek.”
Worship: One Thirst by Bethel
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Guided Prayer:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27
Writing down what God shows you helps to steward what he is so faithful to reveal. It helps to even have a journal set aside for things that God is showing you so you can read back, be reminded and implement what he speaks to you!
Commit yourself to set aside time in the morning to spend with God. It is so much easier to do when you calendar yourself time to spend with him. There is so much freedom and spontaneity inside of structure. If you don’t set aside time for specifically growing in your relationship with God, your life will not be transformed in ways that will bring you passion, peace, joy and a knowledge of how deeply you are loved. You have a real enemy fighting to keep you away from your heavenly Father. So pick a time early enough that you can consistently spend time with him! The more you do it the easier it will become. As you grow in the knowledge of God and his goodness, eventually time spent with him will be your favorite time of the day.
Extended Reading: John 17:6-26
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