First Place

By Cheri Cowell –

“Now why didn’t I think of that?”

That is the question we ask ourselves when we see one of those new inventions that seem so logical it should have been thought of before. We know when we see them that the person who patented it is going to be financially set for life, and we wonder why we didn’t think of it first. I’m talking about things like Velcro, Wet Ones, and Post-it Notes (how did we ever get along without these things?). Secretly, we go even further by asking God if we will ever get there first. Will we ever be the one with the winning ticket, the big idea, or the first place prize? This yearning to be number one has been placed in us by our heavenly Father, not so we can achieve it here on earth, but so it will point us toward God. In Him we are never last. In Him all of us can have first place.

“The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully” (Deuteronomy 28:11-13 NASB).

In this passage, Moses details for the Israelites the decision they must make when they enter Canaan: to fully obey God’s laws and be blessed, or live outside of His laws and be cursed. Verses 1–14 describe a blessed life. When we obey God’s teachings we will be first among many in God’s eyes.

PRAYER: Thank You, God, for Your promise to provide wealth when I obey Your teachings, not wealth as this world defines, but Your wealth of placing me first in Your heart. May I have the courage to give You first place in mine.