Set the Lord Before You!

Good morning, friends.

How are you today? I trust you are well.

This is me again, sitting with my devotion, thinking… and honestly, a little curious too.

This morning, I was reading 1 Chronicles 3, and it’s one of those chapters that feels like a record. Names, lineage, structure. You could almost skim past it.

But something made me pause.

The chapter walks us through the descendants of David.

It talks about the years he reigned in Hebron, about seven and a half years, and how six sons were born to him during that time, from different wives.

Then it goes on to Jerusalem, where he reigned for 33 years, and we see even more children, more wives, not even counting concubines.

And I just sat there thinking…

How did he manage all of that?

Not just logistically. But internally.

How did a man with that kind of household, that kind of responsibility, that level of complexity…
still remain grounded in God?

Because when we think about David, we don’t just think of a king.

We think of a man after God’s own heart.

I found myself asking quietly:

How was his heart not pulled away?

How did he not lose focus?

How did all of this… not derail him?

Because if we are being honest, even with far less on our plates, it’s easy to feel scattered. Distracted. Pulled in different directions.

So what was different about David?

And then I remembered something David himself said.

In Psalm 16:8, he writes:

“I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”

That word always stayed with me.

Not sometimes.
Not when things were going well.
Not only in moments of crisis.

Always.

David made a conscious decision to keep God in front of him in every situation.

Before decisions.
Before actions.
Before reactions.

I sat with that for a bit.

Because it sounds simple, but when you think about it… it’s actually very intentional.

It means:

Pausing before you act

Asking before you decide

Involving God in both the big and the small things

Not just moving because it “makes sense,” but because you’ve checked in with Him

It means living a life where God is not an afterthought… but the starting point.

David faced challenges. Real ones.

He wasn’t exempt from pressure, conflict, or mistakes.

But the difference was this:

He was not moved.

Not because life was easy.
But because his positioning was right.

When God is before you, everything else falls into perspective.

The noise is still there… but it doesn’t control you.
The pressure is still there… but it doesn’t shake you.

There’s a steadiness that comes from alignment.

This morning, I felt a gentle nudge.

Not loud. Not forceful.

Just this:

“Set me before you.”

Before the emails.
Before the decisions.
Before the conversations.
Before the plans.

And I thought I should share that with you too.

Because maybe, just maybe, the stability we are looking for is not in doing more…
but in positioning better.

Lord, help us to set You before us.
Not sometimes, but always.
Teach us to involve You in everything we do.
So that when life happens, and it will, we will not be moved.

Amen.

God bless you.
Have a beautiful day.