How to Bring Your Best to God
Welcome friends!
I am currently following a study of Leviticus, which essentially is a big book of laws. It’s in the Old Testament, and so far I’ve read about burnt offerings, grain offerings, fellowship offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings (Leviticus 1-5). It’s been a lot of animal sacrifice so far!
I sometimes find it difficult to understand how these Old Testament passages relate to today’s world, but one thing that has really struck me in my reading is the call for the best. In the animal sacrifices, God asks for an offering without defect (1:3); when He asks for a grain offering, He asks for the finest flour (2:1).
Under these conditions, God wants His people to bring Him the best of their things so they may align their hearts with Him. It’s not really a sacrifice if it’s easy to give up. I’m fine with donating those old jeans in the back of my closet that don’t really fit anymore and have a stain on the left thigh, but what about my super cute black booties that match all of my dresses? I would have to really love someone more than myself to freely give those away.
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Because of Jesus’ work on the cross, we are no longer bound by these Old Testament sacrificial laws (Romans 10:9-13), but God still wants us to align our hearts with Him and to bring Him our best. So in today’s world, what does that look like?
Colossians 3:23-24
23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
How to Bring Your Best to God
Make God a Priority in Your Day
I constantly see articles about creating a morning routine with God. Getting up half an hour to an hour before your kids, grabbing your coffee and your Bible, and digging into God’s Word before you start the day.
The whole scene sounds so idyllic and calming and beautiful. But it also sounds so unrealistic to me, at least in my current season of life.
Have you seen that meme that says something along the lines of “I’m not a night owl or a morning bird, I’m some kind of permanently exhausted pigeon”? I feel like that meme speaks to my soul. I am 100 percent not a morning person. I am so cranky, and please don’t talk to me until I get the coffee going. Caffeine addiction aside, I’ve always been a grump in the morning. It takes me a few hours to really feel like I’m able to function properly.
So you would think that I’m great at night, but unfortunately for me, I am not. I am pretty much useless after 8 pm. I need to have everything cleaned up before my son heads up to bed so that I can head to my room as well; otherwise, I’m cranky.
I think if you take anything away from this, it’s that I’m a cranky person and I need certain conditions to be pleasant, haha!
Anyway, if I look at my day as a whole, my best is not in the morning, and it’s not late at night. So if I’m going to make God a priority in my day, then I need to find a time that works for me to consistently show up and dig into the Word.
To be honest, consistency has always been difficult for me. I can tackle things strong at first, but then I lose steam and fall back into old habits.
If I want to bring my best to God, then I need to create a consistent schedule of making Him a priority for my day. And for me, mid-morning is usually my best. My coffee’s kicked in, I’ve had my breakfast, my son’s at school, and I’m ready to tackle some tasks.
Find the best time that works for you, and consistently show up for God.
Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
Consult God First
When something bad (or amazing!) happens in your life, who do you call first? Your spouse? Your mom? A trusted friend? Or do you call on God?
Obviously, we all want to say that we call on God first, but I can’t tell you how many times I look to everyone and everything else before I remember to consult God. I can get into a downward spiral of doom-and-gloom faster than it takes to order a pizza. But for whatever reason, I can remember to remind my husband to pray when something is troubling him.
Treating God as an afterthought is definitely not giving Him my best, and it most certainly is disrespectful to the creator of the entire universe.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
If we are praying without ceasing, then we should be going to God first with our grief, gratitude, trouble, and praise. I am giving God my best when I remain in contact with Him throughout my whole day.
To bring your best to God, remember to consult Him first like a trusted advisor. Not last like an afterthought.
Give Your Blessings Back to Him
This one is the most difficult for me because I tend to hold on tightly to all the things of this world. But to bring our best to God, we need to worship Him above the blessings that He provides for us. This means giving those blessings back to Him and recognizing that they were never ours to begin with.
An amazing example of this can be found in 1 Samuel with Hannah.
Hannah had no children, and even though she had a kind husband, she was very sad (1 Samuel 1:8). She prayed and prayed for a child, and she vowed to the Lord that she would give her son back to Him if He blessed her with a child (1:11). And that’s what happened.
1 Samuel 1:22
22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the Lord and dwell there forever.”
As a parent, could you imagine sending your young child away to live somewhere else and be raised by someone else? I can’t even fathom that reality.
But Hannah put God in His rightful place and worshipped the blesser more than the blessing.
If we want to bring our best to God, then we need to worship Him and love Him more than we love the blessings that He provides for us.
Like I said, I struggle with this. I like to be comfortable, and rather than trusting God to take care of my needs, I tend to focus on the things that I have for my security. I need to recognize those things I have as blessings from God and thank Him for them, but not rely on them for my sense of well-being. I need to give them back to God.
Dear God, thank you so much for Jesus’ work on the cross and the salvation we have by believing in Him.
I am grateful that you provide a way for a sinner like me to find salvation and justification through Jesus. While we no longer need to follow Old Testament sacrificial laws, we do need to still align our hearts with you and bring our best to you. Not because we have to, but because you deserve it.
Thank you for the way, the truth, and the life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Unfortunately, it can be so difficult to know how to bring your best to God, but no matter how far we fall, God still loves us and wants a connection with us. It’s up to us to go to Him, and He will absolutely take us as we are. But doesn’t He deserve our best?
Don’t shy away from God if you can’t bring your best, but strive for it because He deserves it.
Blessings Friend.
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