What is the First Thing We Are to Seek?

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Scripture: Matthew 6:31-34 (NLT)

31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

 

Devotion:

            Anxiety, this world is full of anxiety. These verses above seem to be asking the impossible of us, don’t they? Most of us probably can’t make it even one hour without a worrying thought crossing our mind. It is human nature to worry. Today’s fast paced lifestyle with all its demands on us contribute to our insecurities and anxiety. We seem to live in a way that breeds anxiety in our hearts. We must find another way to live in order to be free from worry and anxiety.

            The first lesson we can draw to help us in our battle against anxiety is this. Our God knows what we need and is prepared to give it to us. We should still pray for our daily bread to be provided, however God will provide these things to us because of His great love for us. This leads us to the second lesson from the scripture above. “Seek” in our text is an imperative verb, a command, not a suggestion. So, we must pay close attention to what follows. Seeking the kingdom of God and living righteous lives are to be first priorities for the believer. We are to follow Jesus’ commandments carefully and faithfully. With the promise that if we do, we shall receive necessary provision for our lives. And our worries and anxiety seem to be calmed

            If we are able to live for the Kingdom and live righteous and holy lives before God, we will have no reason to worry about anything. Tomorrow will take care of itself if we live today for God. As the verse states today’s troubles are sufficient for today. We have some control over what we do today, but tomorrow is hard to plan control. Yet we can rest assured that tomorrow will turn out fine as it is under the control of our God who works all things together for the good of those who believe in him. (Romans 8:28)

            Therefore, we can be confident in this, that if we follow God’s commandments and seek God’s desires first in our lives, then we will be able to live lives that are filled with the sweet fruit of the spirit rather than the bitter fruit of worry and anxiety. We all wrestle with our own sin nature that seeks to drag us back into worry and unrest. Let us pray that God will preserve us from these things,

Prayer:

            Heavenly Father hear your children as we cry out for help to escape the prison of anxious thoughts and deeds. Help us to always seek first your Kingdom and live as you intended us to live in righteousness and peace. May all we do bring glory to your name. Teach us to live in your grace making no provision for our flesh. Amen.

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