Putting Jesus First

A year ago I was so pumped and fired up for the Lord. I was ready to do anything and everything for him, and that’s exactly what I did. Can you guess what happened? I ended up with the worse case of burnout I’ve ever had. I was absolutely miserable because I was trying to do all of these things for Jesus, and I couldn’t figure out why my efforts weren’t very fruitful. By the end of the semester I was tired, cranky, and missing my Lord. I had been sacrificing my relationship with him by doing things for him, and it ­didn’t get me anywhere. I was seizing all of these opportunities to serve God without even praying about it.

It was at the end of the semester when I finally got a clue. Just because something is a good thing doesn’t mean it’s the right thing! I forgot to just sit at his feet like Mary; instead I was rushing around like Martha doing a whole bunch of nothing. Scripture says to “Be still and know that I am God.” I knew that—I had just forgotten. So now a year later I am more on fire for the Lord than I’ve ever been. I’ve learned to just relax in Jesus’ presence, and to be prayerful about what exactly he wants me involved in. Because of that we’ve started a prayer meeting at school in the music department. And I meet to pray and study the Bible with a friend who is searching for the Lord. I’m doing more for Jesus than I ever have because I’m spending more time with him than I ever have. Putting Jesus first, and making him an absolute priority makes everything else just fall into place.