I looked at my life and realized that I wanted more…I needed more. I was tired of being surrounded by brokenness. I wanted to be whole. I wanted to find joy, but not just for me. I wanted this for my husband and my children. I believed that God’s plan for us was so much greater than what I saw when I opened my eyes. And I believed that by the grace of God, we would one day have the life that He planned for us. I believed that we would live in purpose. But we were so far off course. We were so far from the foundation that had been laid for us. We needed to find our way back.
There’s always a way back.
It doesn’t matter what we’ve gone through. It doesn’t matter what we’ve done, or how long we’ve been away. We are always welcome and wanted in the arms of our Father. In Luke 15, we read about the parable of the prodigal son. We see that his greed led him to sacrifice his legacy for temporary gain. He asked his father to give him his inheritance early, but then, he squandered it all. He began to starve. He had nothing left. The scriptures say that when he finally came to his senses, he realized that he needed to find his way back to his father, so he did. He returned home. When his father saw him coming, he ran to him, kissed him, and embraced him.
“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. (Luke 15:20-22 NLT)
His father was so happy to see him, that the past no longer mattered. All he wanted was his son back, and when the son returned, he was treated like he never left.
This is how our heavenly Father feels about us. He is less concerned about where we’ve been, and more concerned with us coming home. He just wants to embrace us again. He wants to love on us. He wants to shower us with his blessings. But He goes a step further. He doesn’t just wait for us to come home, He runs after us. He does whatever He has to do to find us, even if that means leaving those that never left his side.
So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! (Luke 15:3-7 NLT)
God draws us to himself.
Are you in a season where you feel like you want to draw closer to God? Maybe you just want to go a little deeper with Him, or maybe you’re like me, and you want to find your way back home. If so, I want you to know this it’s no coincidence. Your heavenly Father is running after you. He is tugging on your heart right now. He wants you to come home. He wants to deepen his relationship with you. He wants nothing more than for his purpose to prevail in your life.
For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. (John 6:44 NLT)
So how do we do this? How do we allow God’s purpose to prevail in our lives? How do we find our way back to Him—to his blessing, to his protection and favor over us? Well, we must make sure that He comes first in our lives. I once heard a pastor say it like this, “First aint second.” It sounds so simple. It sounds like something that shouldn’t have to be said. Yet, many of us proclaim that God is first, while proceeding to prioritize him after our goals, relationships, and finances. But there can only be one first in our lives. Either that first is God, or it is something else.
God must be first.
“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:31-33 NLT)
God must come before all else. When we put him before everything else, He ensures that everything else is taken care of. This means that He will provide us with the tools we need to walk the path that He has for us. He will take care of our families, our health, our finances, our hearts…He will never call us somewhere without providing for us to get there. But in order for us to get there. We have to put him first.
Where is God calling you? Is He calling you to a greater purpose? Is He calling for your marriage and family to be healed? Is He calling for your body to be healed? If God is calling you, I want you to know that the only way for you to get to that place…is to put Him first.
You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you. (Exodus 34:14 NLT)
Over and over again, the children of Israel turned away from God. They worshiped idols and disobeyed the Lord’s commands. And each time, they found themselves in a place of brokenness…far from the Father, far from His blessing, favor, and protection. Why? Because our God is a jealous God. He refuses to share priority with an idol, including our idolization of our own desires. But, He is also merciful. He always creates a way back for us.
“I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’ “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! (Malachi 3:6-10 NLT)
The Lord told the Israelites that once they returned to Him (to his ways, or decrees), He (His blessing, favor, and protection) would return to them. And He gave them a simple remedy. He told them to tithe. He told them that, because they had stopped tithing, they were, “cursed with a curse.” In other words, their decision to withhold the tithe caused them to live under the curse, instead of His blessing. When we read Genesis 3, we see that a curse was placed on the earth when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Due to their decision, we are born under the curse, and there is only one way to break this curse off of our lives.
Tithing breaks the curse.
Tithing is bigger than money. Tithing proves who comes first in our lives. Tithing reveals whether or not God truly has our hearts.
Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. (Matthew 6:21 NLT)
In the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve sinned, they proved what had the greatest priority in their lives. They showed that they would rather fulfill the desires of their flesh, than the desires of their Father. They showed the true condition of their hearts. And this is why tithing is so important to God. He wants to see that He is first in our hearts…through our actions.
Tithing is less about the money, and more about showing God that He has our hearts.
When God sees that He has our hearts, He opens the windows of heaven. He releases provision, favor, blessing, and purpose. If you’re in a place where you need to find your way back to God, begin to tithe. As you give your treasure to Him, your heart will follow. His word says that when we return to Him, He returns to us. This means that you will begin to see His favor and protection guarding your life. This means that you will begin to here his voice, and understand His will for your life. Instead of being ruled by your own desires, you will desire those things that your Father wants for you. And you will begin to see his blessing over you like never before. His word says to test Him. He wants you blessed so much, that He is willing to be tested by you. So, give your heart completely to Him, and watch the miracles that He performs in your life.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for pursuing me, even when I didn’t want to be found. Thank you for always loving me, even when I disobeyed you. I am so grateful for your mercy and grace. I am so grateful that you still choose me, regardless of my past, and regardless of the times I didn’t choose you. But today, Father, I am making the decision to turn from my own desires, to chase after your desires for my life. I am making the decision to walk towards purpose. I am choosing you. I pray that you would give me the faith and strength to follow you, with my whole heart and life. I give my all to you Father. I love you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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