Category: Keeping God First

The great key to a successful life, a fruitful and meaningful life, is to keep God first. This is one fundamental truth that I have learned from The Way Ministry. By “learned,” I mean not only being shown it in the Word of God but also being shown how this truth can be practically applied day by day, year by year, and season of life to season of life.

I have a personal saying that reflects what I have seen as a result of putting God first in my life. It is, “Everything good in my life is because of God.”

The life I had before I learned about God was very good. But when, by His grace, I was witnessed to and began to learn the Word of God in The Way Ministry, the joy and thankfulness I felt exceeded anything in my experience. Nothing took precedence over attending fellowship and ministry functions. My life was enhanced in every way by the Word I was learning to apply, and keeping God first posed no difficulty whatsoever for me at that time.

Then I began to come to crossroads where keeping God first required decisions that would alter the course of my life. One road led to all that was familiar, comfortable, and in some cases “reasonable,” and the other to opportunities that I knew in my heart were from God. Crossroad one: wait to register for the Advanced Class until I was debt-free or make the commitment first and believe God to supply the need. Next crossroad: continue to enjoy my very wonderful and fulfilling job, fellowship, and family or leave it for the unknown and serve as a Way Disciple. Next crossroad: go back to my life before Way Disciple or serve on Staff. Next, continue serving as a household fellowship coordinator together with my husband in a lovely home, prospering and blessed or enter The Way Corps training program. Next crossroad: ask to stay in the United States or accept a Way Corps assignment almost five thousand miles away in a foreign country.

At every one of these major crossroads, and many more in between, I have relied on the same fundamental truth I learned in The Way Ministry as a young believer—keep God first. As a result, God has brought to pass desires of my heart that only He could have known of, including some that I myself did not recognize. At no point have I given up something that God has not replenished over and above. I live today without regret and without fear of lack in any category. What can the world offer that is worth more? As I always say, “Everything good in my life is because of God,” and I know this by experience because I was taught to keep God first.

 

God’s Way Is Not the World’s Way

Matthew 6:33:
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

I have always maintained a diligent and deliberate work ethic. Throughout my adult life (married life), I felt that working hard and putting in extra effort and time would allow me to provide for my family more fully. This thought process did provide financially for my family, but also added an extreme amount of stress to my physical, mental, and spiritual growth.

With guidance from leadership, I was able to see more clearly in God’s Word how I could believe for all my needs to be met no matter how the world thought I was supposed to approach those needs. God’s way is not the world’s way. I was able to change my thought process by doctrinally and practically learning to put Him first in as many ways as I could think of. I was able to secure a career that met all my needs, not just financial needs—and my relationship with God continues to get better!

Thank You, God!

My blessings from God—there are so many. The ones who introduced me to The Way Ministry are my biggest blessing.

These are also some of my blessings from God:

• Family—Dad and Mom, brothers (five in all) and sisters (six in all)
• Marriage—my spouse
• My family—my children

When I was young, the doctors gave my Dad a fifty-fifty chance for successful back surgery. Thanks to God, he lived through it—thanks to our heavenly Father and His grace.

A couple of years later, my mom was diagnosed with meningitis. The doctor said she wouldn’t make it. Again our heavenly Father prevailed. We all prayed to God to send our mother back home from the hospital to us. God did that. We thank God.

I was diagnosed with polyps in my throat and colon. Also, there was a lump in my breast. All were benign! I had no cancer, thanks to my believing in our heavenly Father.

After my oldest daughter was delivered, the doctor told me that she would have brain damage. There was no damage at all by the power of prayer. I believed. Thank you, God!

In 1993 I gave birth to my youngest daughter. She was a premature baby and weighed about two pounds at birth. Her doctor said to my face, “The baby will never make it.” God had another plan. She’s now twenty-five years old. The Lord told me that the doctor didn’t know me like He did.

God is healing, love, righteous, trustworthy, makes no mistakes, and is never late. There is no second-guessing that His Word is His will. These are just some of the blessings God has given me. Everything I have is because of God. God gave us His only begotten Son. I hear wonderful teachings and love to attend fellowship. I don’t have the words to explain it. It’s God first and no distractions. These are some of my blessings from God.

Since I came to this wonderful ministry and I experienced the great things God has done for our lives, my life has never been the same. I have Christ in me.

My shy self, proud and full of fears and uncertainties, was gradually disappearing; and today I am working on the same project as many of you: building my best version of myself.

It seems obvious now, but choosing that and changing the direction of my life wasn’t easy at all. I remember how Proverbs 3:5 and 6—“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths”— clicked in the innermost part of my mind—my heart. I wanted to put God first. I wanted to be a better disciple.

I needed another environment to grow and develop in the Word. That’s how the idea of moving to another city (where the ministry office is located) with my daughter began to crystallize. Move out from where I was to a new city. We are talking about two thousand five hundred kilometers (or approximately one thousand five hundred miles)!

I wanted to do things right, and Proverbs 20:18 says that every purpose is established by counsel. I remember that the first thing I did was to go to my household fellowship coordinators in Africa who helped me clarify the situation and know if it was the right choice for me or not. With their love and dedication, both of them led me to make the best decision in order for God to work in my life; to ponder the paths and then follow them; to understand the purpose of my decisions, building up my mind to be bold in believing.

Operating these principles helped me to achieve success and to see the hand of God working in my favor. Today I realize that it was the right decision to make.

With God we can expect great things to happen: He always goes far beyond our expectations. A few days after I arrived, I found a school for my daughter; a week later I found a cozy house to live in; and the following week I found a job that blesses me a lot.

I regularly attend a household fellowship with our Country coordinators, and despite not having blood family here, the spiritual family abounds in love toward me. The household of God is a great support and a blessing for me.

Our God is an awesome God! The Way Ministry, through its Sunday Teaching Services (live and on CD or DVD), fellowship meetings, classes, collateral studies, The Way Magazine, and other media, has kept me anchored in God’s Word so that I could see God work in me and my life’s endeavors.

When I awaken each day, it’s the Word that I do first—reading Scripture, praying, speaking in tongues, and listening to Christian music. It’s a great start to my day, and I’m ready to accomplish my tasks and conquer the challenges of the day!

So, let me relate one story about how God has blessed me (and my family).

In 2012 I decided to relocate to Florida. This decision involved leaving my job as well as relocating my elderly parents from Puerto Rico. In their eighties at this time, Mom and Dad required more care, and my siblings and I felt they could no longer stay by themselves on the island. In addition, every time we visited them we saw so many negative things going on in the small island. With God’s spirit at work in me, I knew we needed to do something soon. With everyone on board, my planning and preparation began. This all came to fruition in January of 2014. I moved first, and then by August 2014 my parents joined me. We sold their home and purchased a new home in Florida during this time frame. God is great!

After settling in and working various jobs, I now work full time teaching English to international students. This job came with a good salary and, most of all, health benefits—and more! God met this great need for me to continue working in a most rewarding job.

In September of 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico. None of us could have imagined the catastrophic effects of this hurricane until we saw the images and news reports on TV. We were heartbroken, to say the least. However, my parents, my siblings, and I remain grateful that we were able to move my parents out when we did. In the days that followed, we received news from the few family members and friends still living on the island that they were well. Months later, we also found out that my parents’ former home was untouched by the hurricane. God is magnificent!

Today my siblings visit frequently, with three out of four of us living in Florida. My parents and I enjoy listening to the Sunday Teaching Services and singing hymns with all. My prayer partner and I have seen great things come to pass for each of us. Our respective fellowships and Bible study groups stand stronger and more committed; we keep one another energized in our believing and continue to will and do of God’s good pleasure! God is amazing!

I was new to this country and new to The Way Ministry, living in the eastern United States, and working twelve-hour shifts as a nurse in a cardiac unit. A new assistant manager was hired in my unit, and it seemed like her life’s mission was to make my life as miserable as possible. My assignment was always the toughest and any request for time off was never granted. She always made an excuse why she just couldn’t give me the time off. Usually, I brushed it off amid the taunts of my coworkers that I had angered her somehow. Truthfully, no one, least of all me, understood why she seemed to hate me so.

It was July and I put in a request for a week off in August to attend the Rock of Ages at Headquarters in Ohio. My household fellowship coordinator shared that we would leave town Saturday at about 6:00 a.m., carpooling together as a fellowship to arrive in Ohio later that evening, refreshed and ready for registration on Sunday. So, my request was submitted for Saturday through Sunday off. (We would return the following Saturday, so I figured I could rest on Sunday and return to work on Monday.) My request off was granted except for the first Sunday, the day after we were supposed to leave.

I made an appointment to meet with the assistant manager and explained that if we left for Ohio on Saturday there was no way I could make it back to work on Sunday. She refused to budge and insisted I work on Sunday. I shared that with my household fellowship coordinator and fellowship, and we prayed and just believed God to cover. We left on Saturday for the Rock of Ages and enjoyed a fabulous time in God’s Word.

When I returned, I was told that the hospital had made a new position for the assistant manager and that she had been transferred immediately to a different department where I would have no interaction with her. To this day, I have no idea what that new position was. GOD IS GOOD.

It was August 1981, and I was looking for a job at the local hospital in the small southwestern town I had just moved to as part of our ministry’s yearlong outreach program. This was a small college town, with only about twelve thousand people residing in it. I had just graduated from college with a degree in medical laboratory technology, and I desired to work part-time at the town’s small community hospital so I could immediately put my college degree to work. I was putting God first in my actions, and I was believing for God to do “exceeding abundantly above” all I could ask or think!

I applied at the hospital and was excited to get an interview. At the interview the supervisor said, “It’s amazing that you’re here right now. We just had an opening in the laboratory! We weren’t sure how we could fill this position in this town.” I was hired and my hours were perfect: mornings, part-time. During my employment there, I was able to hone my skills as a medical laboratory technician. I saw in a tangible form that Matthew 6:33 is true!

Matthew 6:33:
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.