What’s Your Top Priority?

With a new year outstretched before us, I found myself thinking about priorities and what is most important in my life. It took me back to a time when my top priority changed dramatically, as the Holy Spirit convicted me through a verse Jesus spoke in the Sermon on the Mount, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

At the time, I had been putting my all into pursuing healing, trying to do everything I thought was right to do on my journey of dealing with painful issues of my past, and to trust that the Lord would bring me into His healing and freedom. I was reading the Bible, repenting, forgiving, soul ties were cut, I received deliverance ministry, looked at faulty belief systems and mindsets, tried to deal with ungodly behaviour … the list goes on. Surely, I thought, as all these healing principles are ticked off the list, healing will come. Rather like putting dirty washing through a washing machine cycle, opening the door of the washer, and out comes clean clothes!

But here I was, convicted that I was seeking healing, and this was my priority, but it wasn’t, and isn’t, God’s priority. He was holding up a mirror to me and making it clear that my priority needed to shift from pursuing healing to pursuing Him, and real relationship with Him. As I meditated on this, I began to understand that, if I continued to pursue healing, it would never end. In this fallen world there would always be another healing need, and another. I needed to pursue the real treasure to which nothing can compare, not even the healing I so longed for.

The most amazing discovery for me is finding that as the Holy Spirit enabled me to shift my priority to pursuing relationship with Father God through Jesus, He, who is no man’s debtor, has been so true to His word, and graciously ‘added to me’ the healing of the issues of my past and given back so much into my life.

I am so grateful to Him. Yet I know there are still more areas He wants to challenge me on, as He whispers, “Am I your top priority? Are there other things you put before Me?”

I wonder if the Lord is prompting us all at the beginning of this new year to think about what we will give most of our time and energy to in 2023. It could be the pursuit of healing or perhaps it’s our own plans and ideals, routines, and daily rituals, worry, fear, our feelings, money, looking at our phones, engaging in social media, the internet. It could even be service to the Lord. Of course, we are called to serve, but our loving Father intends that our service overflows from our relationship with Him.

It's a good time to invite the Holy Spirit to come with His conviction to show us anything that has priority over Him in our lives. Let’s ask Him for revelation and to enable us by His Spirit to let go of those things, and to make pursuit of a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him our top priority.