Seek First the Kingdom

I would like to consider a passage of Scripture that the Lord has been emphasizing to me lately.  As some of you know, my husband has been enemployed since June 2010.  During this time, the Lord has provided for all our needs and has been teaching us many things.  Let's look at the following passage from Matthew 6:25-34 (ESV):

²⁵ "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?   ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.   Are you not of more value than they?   ²⁷And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁸And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.   ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?   ³¹Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  ³²For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.    ³⁴ "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

The Lord has been emphasizing my need to rest in Him and His provision for me and my family.  This is difficult at times, especially for my husband.  He's wired to be the provider and he's a real "go-getter".   Our tendency has been to jump in and try and make something happen, rather than wait on the Lord for peace and direction.  The Lord has also been showing me that we are in a major transitional crossroad period in our lives.  We (my husband and I) both know it's extremely important to let the peace of God rule our heart in ALL the decisions we make.  It's easy to go about your daily life and save seeking God for the "big stuff".  But we're learning that seeking God is a constant need in our life.

Another aspect the Lord has been showing me from this passage is found in verse 26, I've highlighted the text in bold letters.  Isn't this a wonderful picture of God's grace toward us.  The birds of the air cannot earn His provision and neither can we!  We are His children and He takes care of us. Period.  Now, the Word also states that the Lord blesses the work of our hands and that we're not to be lazy.  So, I don't think this passage in Matthew is encouraging us to sit around and let God feed us.  I do think it's showing us how God cares for us, simply because we are His children. 

God makes things so clear and simple in His Word.  We are to seek His kingdom and righteousness first, then everything else takes care of itself.  I believe that to seek God's righteousness is to seek an understanding of our right-standing with Him based on the finished work of Jesus at the cross.  After all, that is our righteousness.  We have no righteousness of our own.  So, by seeking the Lord through spending time with Him, we can rest in knowing that He's taking care of everything else in our life. 

I hope you take the time to meditate on this passage and let the Lord speak to you.  I welcome any comments or questions!

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