Hi again..

Sorry it's been so long! I was doing so well with this for a while then life got sort of "big" -

I am posting a devotion that I wrote for our worship team. God and I have been in serious discussion about our relationship this week- turns out my focus has not been properly directed even though I have been heavily counseling others to be aware of this very thing. Through some rough patches in ministry and some internal battling- as well as words of truth through a friend that I love and trust yesterday, hopefully we are back on track...

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King Solomon, one of the wealthiest men who ever lived, had everything he wanted. Yet he went on a binge, trying to satisfy his appetites with the wrong things. He went after passion. He went after possessions. He went after things of beauty and buildings and land. Here was his conclusion: “Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

"Everything else in life is secondary to knowing and loving God—your career, your family, and even your ministry. Those things are all important. But the first and foremost purpose you have in life is to know the God who made you." ( Chris Jarrell)

I have been thinking about the fact that every one of us is created with a void in our hearts that can only be filled with God, and how we spend so much time and energy trying to fill it with other people and things. Relationships, work, material things.. even ministry- sometimes I am guilty of allowing my busyness consume me. My family needs things that can’t be delayed, especially my kids.. so I minister to those needs. There are many people God has placed in my life that need nurturing and caring for, so that takes priority. I "get to" my devotion and quiet time the same way- as if checking things off a to do list… even when I caution others not to do that. At the end of the day… I am left feeling alone, depleted and starved because although I have done the work, taken care of others, ministered , and even read His word that morning and prayed--something is missing. Was I facedown? Did I hunger enough for God to pay any real attention to Him that day?? The question I must ask myself at the end of every day is this: Is my relationship with God stronger this evening for having spent enough time facedown with my Savior, my Creator, the love of my life and the lover of my soul? If I cannot answer this question with a resounding YES, then I need to re-evaluate my priorities.


I began this devotion this morning after my quiet time, knowing that there had been a few things He was laying on my heart without knowing where He was going with them. In the middle of my writing time, I had a visit from a precious friend.. someone who’s insight I value and esteem greatly. During her visit, one of the things she spoke into my life was this truth: "In the end, it’s all about you and Him.. and that’s IT. Nothing else in this world matters as much as that matters."

While I have “known” this, my heart had not been aching enough to LEARN it- until the past couple of months. God has caused that void in my heart to ache so hard, and so far down, that for me to even begin to allow God in, I have had to give up so much control of myself-- and found myself decreased to the point of total surrender and worship- and that I willingly fall to my face before God and beg Him to begin to fill the hole in my heart.. and I understand that longing in my soul can only be met by Him increasing in my life. I must make that time with Him count. I must be on my face before the Lord. Otherwise I am not growing, I am not learning and my heart is sore, depleted and empty before I know it.

That is my prayer for each of us- that we would ache desperately enough to seek Him on our knees, even on our faces – and model that for the people we lead into His presence. I pray that this is what His people see in worship at Lifecoast Church. I pray that we each can find time to allow God to get in there deeply enough so that when we lead others in worship, we lead, then move out of the way so that their time with God can "count"... and eventually that will seep into their lives Monday through Saturday as well. I believe He wants it to count every single day- and He will bring us to our knees repeatedly for this to sink in.

I am so thankful we have a God who loves like that..

Blessings,
Cheryl