In the Old Testament, the first part of the harvest was to be offered to God in gratitude. So when God says, ‘… I require … the first-fruits and the choicest of your contributions …,’ it means instead of fitting Him into your agenda, you must put Him at the top.

Notice : He wants your ‘first-fruits’, not your leftovers. One Bible teacher put it like this :

‘I’ve trained myself to start each day by giving God the first-fruits of my time.

I’ve realised that I’m not going to get through the day peacefully if I don’t! … So, each morning I get coffee, and usually while still in my pyjamas, I spend as much time with God as I need to, in order to feel I can behave properly and walk in the Fruit of the Spirit throughout the day.

I’ve learned to use the best part of my day, to give God the best part of my heart.’

Giving God the first moments of the morning helps keep my priorities straight for the rest of the day.”

Don’t use this gift of time with God to meditate on your problems … set your heart as the Psalmist did : ‘…I trusted in, relied on, and was confident in You, O Lord; I said, “You are my God. My times are in Your hands’’’ (Psalms 31:14-15 AMP).

Note the words ‘my times are in Your hands….’ Each day will bring times of joy, times of testing, times of challenge, and times of temptation.

That’s why you need to pray, ‘Lord, each hour of this day I’m depending on You. Let my words, my attitudes, my decisions, and my actions bring glory to You.’