Have you ever had the experience of being the last picked for games when you were in school? Kickball...last to get picked....football, last to get picked....soccer...ok, you get the point. Kind of stinks doesn't it. Most of us that had to go through something like that had to go through it because either no one thought we had any skill at the game at hand, or someone just thought we flat out stunk.

Now let me ask you...if God we standing out of the field in a group of people, how many of you would pick Him last? Not one of you would if you had even a bit of rational thought. Can you imagine having God on your football team? You wouldn't need anyone else. You definitely wouldn't have to fight over who would be 'all time quarterback'.

That's kind of a "well duh" question and answer but in real life, it doesn't always turn out that way. Have you ever noticed that often times God really is picked last in almost all of our daily life decisions? Why is that? Why would we want Him on our football teams, but don't want Him anywhere else?

I think for most of us, it's about control. We want to believe somehow that we have some small bit of control when it comes to our lives. We want to believe that we have a say in what we do or which way we go. And therefore the thought of relinquishing that control to anyone just doesn't sit well with us.

And yet, after we make our decisions "on our own" and have to sit back and watch the disasters that ensue afterwards, we inevitably call out to God "Lord please help me with this mess I've made".

So we know who to call out to in the time of need...we know who to call out to when we need help...we know who to seek when it comes to the really big decisions that we really don't want to make on our own....but we rarely ever call out to Him FIRST. It's like we go down a list and say "well I've tried this and it failed...I've tried that and it failed...I've done everything I can think of....so I guess I have no where left to turn but God".

We make decisions all the time knowing that God wouldn't approve but we do it anyway. Then when it has all gone south, and we've exhausted all other options, we seek Him.

Is it any wonder why some many of us struggle to hear God in our lives? Is it any wonder why so many fail to feel the presence of God in their lives? We have relegated God to that unskilled, untalented kid that is only person left to pick in kickball.

But the amazing thing to me is that every time that I have chosen to seek God first...He has never let me down. He has never disappointed me. He has never forsaken me. And yet, time after time...there are still decisions that I make without seeking Him first. It's as though I say to God "I know that you've never messed up anything in my life and always have my best interest in mind...and I know that you have offered to continue doing that for me as long as I seek you....but really God, THIS TIME I've got it figured out...I know I've made a mess of this thing a thousand times before...but NOT THIS TIME....I've got it....really".

All I know is that I am continually amazed at the long suffering and patience of God towards me. He will lovingly let me use my free will to make choices that continually cause me grief, but then is right there again when I turn around and realize that I've messed it up again.

Maybe one day I'll realize what I've known all along...God really does know best....and there is no other place that He deserves to be but FIRST.