Come Up Here And See

As another year begins, the Lord urged me that the first and foremost thing in my life needs to be seeking Him. The Lord restored hope that He desperately wanted to be found by us. He provided the way to Him by opening the throne room by the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. We are encouraged to run and jump into His lap. He desires intimacy with us.

• Jeremiah 29:13 NASB1995 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

No matter what the situation will be in 2024, He tells me to draw nearer to Him than I have ever been before in my life. The Lord wanted me to see all His wrinkles, behold every feature of His beautiful face, and be in His breathing distance. He wanted me to be close enough to hear His robe as He moved. I have a picture in my head as Jesus pulls away from the dining table, I hear the chairs scuffing the floor. He reminded me that as Jesus looked at the crucifixion, He was looking through the curtain, seeing us set free from death and shame because He was the Lamb of God.

• James 4:8a NASB Come close to God, and He will come close to you. 

• Psalm 27:8 NKJV When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”

• Hebrews 12:2 MSG Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honour, right alongside God.

The Lord encouraged me that every day, as I kept God first, there is always a freshness, a new awareness, and a fresh revelation. The cry of my heart to see another aspect of His glory would happen, and I would be on my face crying out Holy, Holy, Holy to the Lord God almighty.

• Revelations 4:8 NKJV The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”

As I contemplated how to do what the Holy Spirit was encouraging me to do, the scriptures that came to my mind focused on “First” are:

• Praying – 1 Timothy 2:1 ICB First, I tell you to pray for all people. Ask God for the things people need, and be thankful to him.

• Seeking God’s righteous kingdom – Matthew 6:33 NASB But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.

• Loving God first with all my heart – Matthew 22:37-40 NKJV Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest Commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

• Not losing my first love – Revelation 2:4 NASB But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
• Loving God first – 1 John 4:19 NKJV We love Him because He first loved us.

• Honouring the Lord with my first fruits – Proverbs 3:9 NKJV Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the first fruits of all your increase.

Spirit of the Living God, I pray that You continue to charge us to be obedient to set You first in our daily lives. I also pray that when we spend time in Your presence, we will see You every day as though it was the first time. I want us to recognize Your voice clearly. When we read Your Word, please let us see fresh revelations that we have never seen before. I thank You that You hear our prayers and answer them, in Jesus’ name, amen.