Seek Ye First

Seek Ye First

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:33‬

How often do we go after things in life, in pursuit of something better?

We try and find a better job, a newer car, a nicer house, a better horse (that one was for my wife) or the “greener grass”.

Along the way in life we stop turning to God and turn to ourselves to decide what is best for us. Sure, we go to God in prayer about our decisions, but we rarely consult Him before the thought comes into our heads.  Usually we want something and we ask God to confirm whether or not WE are making the right decision. 

We have become the grand authority on what is best for us and what we need. Our “wants” become diluted into our needs and they both become more and more difficult to differentiate between. Eventually everything blends together and we teach ourselves to depend on ourselves, rather than seeking God. Eventually our wants are turned into our needs. 

The act of seeking is an active role.

Ever lose your car keys?  You didn’t actually lose them, you just don’t remember where you put them.  You’ll trace your steps, go to places where they should be and constantly blame everyone else for moving them.  You are actively, almost frantically, searching and looking for them. Until you find them.  Then viola, it all stops. Peace at last. 

But what about those three words in Matthew 6:33 - “seek ye first”.  What about this makes us go to Him last, or even second?

Trust me, it’s hard. I’ve been NOT going to God for over forty-five years. It’s hard to change that training.  When you’ve depended on yourself your entire life, almost fifty years, it’s hard to depend on someone else - much less, actively seek them. 

I’ve built in my own mechanisms for dealing with things like stress and anxiety. Not to mention the auto responses that pop up on the fly. 

Teaching and training myself to act differently is hard. Sometimes it seems impossible. Changing what I used to do, or how I used to respond - can be so deflating. 

We stress and worry about so many things that God will provide for us, not in the sense of what we believe we need, but what He knows we need from Him. 

In this verse, the Gentiles are worried more over food and clothing than their righteousness.  This righteousness is the seeking after the holiness and becoming interested in God over everything else. 

This is why we must “seek ye first the kingdom of God”.  It isn’t a suggestion. It is a command from Jesus.  He knows what the Father will provide. Everything we could ever want will be provided by the Father, but we have to seek Him first. 

We have to lay ourselves aside. 

This isn’t to say that you can just lay in bed all day, quit your job, not eat, etc.  There are decisions we must make every single day, but we must be relying on God in every circumstance.  He must be our priority. Our decisions, when God is sought after, will be in His Will, not ours. 

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:34‬

Jesus knew what was needed of Him. He knew what God, His Father, wanted of Him. He went to Him in prayer often. And even knowing that He would have to die for us - He put His will aside, and sought after God. 

“saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭22:42‬

It is the will of God that we must live in, not our wants and desires. We must seek God in everything. And we must seek Him first, not second, not during and not after we have made up our mind up about something. This is true obedience.  Our world has watered-down obedience in such a way that it is hard to see what it looks like anymore. 

True obedience is seeking after God and His righteousness.  Seeking after what God wants for us, not what we want. His desire is for us to be closer to Him. True closeness is a trust that His will for our lives is better than ours. 

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1:12-13‬