Around the beginning of 2026 I came across this quote from Oswald Chambers:
“Your priorities must be God first, God second, and God third, until your life is continually face-to-face with God.”
As a follower of Jesus, I find this to be the best advice outside of the Word of God. It is a summation of what we find in God’s Word. The Amplified Version of Mark 12:30 states it this way: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.”
When I keep God as my first priority, my second priority, and my third priority, I find myself making less hasty decisions, having more calmness, and traversing daily life with more ease.
I also heard this definition of “sanctified” [I cannot remember who said it.]:
“Sanctified means put to its intended use.”
God desires that our lives, our bodies, and our hearts belong to Him. He sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins so that we could have a living and active relationship with Him. He desires that we be available for His work, whether it is at home, in our workplace, in our neighborhood, at school, or church. In other words, He wants us to be available everywhere we interact with people. God desires that His life be made visible to people through the lives of His followers.
The above two quotes are connected. When God is our priority, our lives fulfill their intended purpose.
When Christ’s followers veer from God’s intended path, God is usually misrepresented.
Consider the history of the nation of Israel. God delivered them from Egyptian bondage [see the book of Exodus]. He led them through the desert, by a pillar of fire at night and by a cloud during the day. No such event had ever occurred before in mankind’s history.
This was amazing for the surrounding nations to observe!
As God promised, He brought them to the edge of the “Promised Land” [This is a reference to the land He promised Abram aka Abraham in Genesis 12:7: “Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.] This promise gives specific details as to the boundaries of the land in Genesis 15:18–20: “On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi[e] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
The scouts explored the land. Two explorers agreed it was great land and they should move forward with conquering it. But the remaining ten explorers convinced the people they shouldn’t move ahead, even though God had promised them victory in the battles to claim the land. After all, the land belongs to God, and He has the right to give it to whomever He wants.
But God knew what He was doing when He gave that land to Israel. All they needed to do was trust and obey God.
As a result of their disobedience, the people lost sight of God being their first, second, and third priority. They failed to remember God’s intended use for their lives. They were to represent Him, just as Christ’s followers are to do today. Their disobedience reflected poorly on God.
The results of their disobedience was devastating. They ended up walking around the desert for forty years until that generation died. Only the two explorers who wanted to wholeheartedly obey God – Joshua and Caleb – would enter the Promised Land from that generation.
What experience have you had with God when you made Him your first, second, and third priority? If you are not in that place, you can confess to God your desire to surrender all to Him. He wants to help people succeed in knowing Him and representing Him well to our world.
Our world is filled with ungodliness. It is time for God’s people to stand up for Him. We cannot do this on our own. We need God’s indwelling Holy Spirit to lead, strengthen, and encourage us as we determine to make God our first, second, and third priority.
Is Jesus your Lord and Savior? If not, that is the first commitment you need to make. It is not complicated, but does require commitment. It requires that we truly confess ourselves as sinners in need of Jesus as our Savior. It means that we understand there is no other way to have a relationship with God because we have no means by which we can pay the penalty for our sins. This is why God sent Jesus. At the moment you make this commitment to Jesus, God indwells you with His Holy Spirit. This is permanent. God will ALWAYS be with you wherever you are!!
John 14:15-17 states this truth as he quotes Jesus: “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
God is for us. His people should be for Him, without reservation.
If God is not your first, second, and third priority, what will you do to remove whatever is in those places and make God your absolute priority?
I’d be glad to talk with you about making Jesus your first, second, and third priority. You can reach me at: ButGodCares@gmail.com.
Living for Jesus, Donna
P.S. If this has helped you, please share it with others!
Note: If the verses for Bible references do not appear when you hover over them, go directly to the website, and they should appear for you. Also, please remember to look at the full context of the verses by reading the complete passage.
Copyright 2026 Donna Shappy All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other – without the prior permission of the author.