But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Jesus tells us that we are to seek His kingdom and righteousness first. When we do this, God Himself will give us everything we need for life. As we desire to live a life of worship we must stay focused on Jesus. We must seek Him above everything else. In this context in Matthew 6, He is speaking about our daily needs we have for survival; food, clothing, shelter, etc. Jesus says that we are to spend our time and our energy seeking Him and not those other things. The amazing thing is when we seek Him first, He gives us the other things we need to survive. This means we can spend our energy living for God and doing what He wants us to do. We no longer have to worry about making enough money or getting more things. We just focus on being who God wants us to be and doing what He wants us to do, and He will freely give us all that we need to survive. He takes such good care of His children. Better care than we can take of ourselves!
Jesus is to be the focus of our hearts. We should seek to live for Him and for His kingdom before we seek to live for ourselves. It is a total shift in thinking from how the world lives. The world says to look out for yourself since no one else will. Jesus tells us to live for Him and not worry about the things we need for life. When we are living for God, He will freely give us what we need for life on this earth. God always takes care of His children. He asks us to put Him first, to put Him before ourselves. We should not be worried about our reputation, but be worried about God’s reputation. This is the life that He would have us to live. When we live in this way, He will make sure that we have everything that we need. Our lives are to be lived for God and God alone. He takes care of the details.
- Do you seek God first in your life?
- What things do you sometimes put before God in your life?
- Do you believe that God can and will give you what you need to live?
Today, don’t worry about getting the things that you need to live. Spend your energy living for God’s purposes and trust Him that He will give you what you need to live.
A Pastor's Thoughts 