“(…): but now the LORD saith, (…); for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” 1 Samuel 2:30

God has not hidden to his people that he is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 4:24; Joshua 24:19). One undebatable feature about jealous people is that they want to enjoy exclusive attention. When it comes to worship, our God wants his children to be fully His, heart, soul and strength. (Deut. 6:5; Matthew 22:37).

Throughout the mankind story, anytime the Almighty has found any person that is ready to align with that expectation of His, the person becomes a vessel that He powerfully uses to fulfil his agenda on earth. People like Elijah, Elisha, John the Baptist, Daniel and his friends would rather die than do anything to sadden or irritate God. For them, there was no alternative to God. It was always either God or God, no matter what they were going through, the circumstances surrounding them, whether they were losing or gaining, they endeavored as much as possible not to shift their glance from the Master.

Because those men made a sacrifice of themselves to God, not only was he pleased to be called their God, but he would not turn his back on them anytime He feels they have a need or anytime they opened up to Him about anything they needed. God was as close to them as their shadow was. He sent his angel to fellowship with Daniel’s friends in the furnace, got to the lion’s den before Daniel to close the mouth of lion, used a voracious bird to feed the hungry Elijah, etc. In reply to Joshua’s prayer, he made the sun stay still and he honored Moses by splitting the red sea and allowing his people to cross.

Beloved, where we miss it often is when we expect God to make us his priority while we only deal with him as one option, keeping many alternatives at hand. Our anchor verse this week is God’s reaction when he realized that Eli would rather honor his children than harken to his instruction: “they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed”

What about us today, we want God to answer us speedily when we cry to him, we want him to prioritize us. However, do we make him our priority in all things (time, finances, worship, soulwinning, etc.)? Take the first step toward him and experience a wonderfully caring, loving and answering God.