**THE COMFORTER EVANGELICAL MINISTRY (TCEM) DEVOTIONAL**  

**“OUR GOD IS NOT COMPLICATED”**

**Monday, March 3 2025**  

**Trials’ Lessons: Right Priorities!**

**Scripture Reading:** Genesis 22:12  

“And He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me’” (NKJV).

Trials from the Lord help believers discover what they value most in life. A significant reason for God testing Abraham at Mount Moriah was to reveal to him his true priorities. God wanted Abraham to confront the question: “Do you love Isaac more than Me, or do you love Me more than Isaac?” The Lord was prepared to take Abraham’s son’s life if that was necessary for Abraham to place God above all else.

Today, God also tests the sincerity of those who claim to love Him (see Deut. 13:3). In Matthew 22:36-37, Jesus states, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” 

Jesus was so concerned about our priorities that He made a radical statement: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). Christians must love Christ so deeply that, by comparison, their love for family and themselves may seem negligible.

To test this devotion, God may, in dramatic ways, ask us to renounce the demands and influences of family and place His will and affections first in our lives. This kind of radical obedience, exemplified by Abraham, always leads to God’s blessings. Jesus Himself is the perfect example of this principle. As fully human and God, He experienced all of life’s pains and hardships. As the Suffering Servant (Isa. 53), He learned what it means to obey through pain and adversity, ultimately leading to His crucifixion (Heb. 5:7-9). Consequently, the Son was exalted by the Father (Phil. 2:8-9).

Sometimes, God requires us to endure trials and sufferings as part of our obedience. However, if we remain faithful to His Word and will, these challenges will teach us to value and appreciate God’s many blessings.

Let us pray that our priorities remain aligned with God each day.

**Please read and meditate on Deuteronomy 6:1-9, and reflect on the following question: What should be the top priority for all believers?**

**LET US PRAY:**  

My Father, I thank You because You are the LORD who answers prayer. Therefore, I cast out every doubt and unbelief from my spirit and household in Jesus Christ’s name. 🙏🏼  

My Father, make me and my household perfect for Your good work and help us continuously to be Your obedient children in the land of the living, in the name of Jesus Christ. 🙏🏼  

Wolves sent by Satan and agents assigned to attack Christian homes shall not prosper in my house, in the name of Jesus Christ. 🙏🏼  

My marriage, as well as my children’s marriages, shall not follow the evil patterns of our ancestors in the name of Jesus Christ. 🙏🏼