“But seek first His Kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)
Most people, or should I say alot of people seem to measure earthly success in terms of wealth, recognition, power, status, and achievement. There is nothing wrong with acquiring any of these things if they are the outcome of honoring God in all we do. But the trouble with using these as success indicators is that when they become our priority they can become an expression of our own ego. What this ends up doing is it keeps us from truly connecting with what is most important in God’s eyes. And I would like to think that every true believer that is reading this has as their main desire that of doing what is most important in God’s eyes, at least we should be thinking this way.
This bring us to our verse. I remember being in Hawaii many years ago doing ministry and I had my daughter with me on this particular trip. I had gone into a store to try on some clothes and she had managed to slip away out of my sight, and it was just a moment that I wasn’t looking and she was gone. I will never forget the intense panic I felt through my whole being. It is a feeling that words cannot describe. There was only thing on my mind and that was seeking after her. When you learn what the word “seeking” really means you will see that it is much more than just “looking around” for someone, in this case my child. It carries in its meaning the intensity of looking for a lost child; the all-consuming intensity of looking for that child with every ounce of energy in your body; consumed with looking; spending every moment searching until that child is found, which by the grace of God I did.
Here in our verse the word means, “to deliberately strive and desire something as an act of the will.” It is the Greek word zeteo. Inits context it implies putting your whole life at the disposal of God’s rule and will so that nothing takes greater priority. It carries the idea that that seeking God is an activity of the whole being, not simply an intellectual or religious pursuit. It is nothing less than a 100 percent effort. It means, “Give it all you got!”
So our verse it telling us that whenever we consciously commit ourselves in utter abandonment to God’s will, He faithfully cares for our every need. Jesus is telling us that God knows exactly what we need and we can have every confidence that He will provide for us when we totally surrender to Him. This my friends is the essence of a life in Christ. We are asked to seek one thing–God’s reign. Our needs are not first on the list. The real goal is God’s kingdom. When we make God’s reign the single focus of life, an amazing thing happens. God takes care of the rest.
2010 has just started. Why not make this the year when you truly start seeking after God! Take the word as truth. Seek Him this year with intensity and watch what He can do for you.
God Bless you all as you begin today to seek first His kingdom with every bit of your being.
