This week I spent a few days alone at a retreat and renewal centre.

I didn’t want to do it.
I felt like I didn’t have time.
It can be uncomfortable to be alone.
I prefer to be busy.

However, I had committed to make it a priority.

“The word priority came into the English language in the 1400s. It was singular. It meant the very first or prior thing. It stayed singular for the next five hundred years… Only in the 1900s did we pluralize the term and start talking about priorities. Illogically, we reasoned that by changing the word we could bend reality. Somehow we would now be able to have multiple “first” things.” – Greg McKeown, Essentialism

Years ago I penned:

“Above all else, I want to know God.
I am convinced that if I make it my first priority in life to love God, this will be the most fulfilling life.”

So, what had me checking in at a retreat centre and spending hours alone in a monk-like room?

When I wrote this declaration, I knew if I was serious about it – I would need to set aside a few days, a few times a year, to realign my life with my priority – or my priority would become hollow words.

When Jesus lived on earth with people, He was asked: What should be most important for your followers? He said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Jesus wasn’t speaking only to people who are called to ministry, to lead, or to do something “important”. No. He invited both the most astute and the lowly and unseen… He invited the beggars, religious leaders, men, women, and even the children. He welcomed all by saying, set your priority on this one thing: Love God.

On the days leading up to my retreat,
I thought I was too busy to pause.
But in the quiet, I remembered,
Pausing with God must dictate my busy.

I felt I was too important to pause.
I recognized, in the pause, what is truly important.

My priority,
Reorients me.

Yes. For these reasons, it is valuable to be still.
But most supremely, as I lingered in His love, I realized I’ve been rambling.

What does it mean to love God with all my heart, anyways?

It means God is my dominant desire.

I have had moments and times when this has been true. However, through the busyness and battering of life – I begin to forget what God’s love feels like… I forget what He has done for me… and I desire social media, a busy pace and distractions, over time with my extraordinary friend.

When I pause, I recognize what I truly want.
God.
And I find the stepping-stones to take me home.
Rocks of worship.
And I release the desires I thought could fulfill me.
And I am filled.

We all have wants.
But what do I want most?
God’s Word says, “Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do!” – Proverbs 4:7 NLT

How do I get wisdom?
God’s Word says, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” – Proverbs 9:10

What does it mean to fear God?
For followers of Christ, to fear God is to revere God in awe and wonder.
The cross was enough – and you are hidden in Christ.
To fear Him is to revere Him.
To fear Him is to worship Him.|
Worship God in your mind, words, work, and songs.
As you set your affection on Him,
Your desire for Him grows dominant
And the good things in life can be enjoyed as gifts,
Instead of worshipped as mini gods.
Addictions are broken.
Relationships restored.
Power reclaimed.
Responsibility renewed.

Some things never change.
I pray this be true of your priority too.