SEEK FIRST

Matthew 6:25-34
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? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But 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? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But 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.
Have you ever been in a situation where you don’t understand the world around you?
I think many of us have experienced those moments. It may be at school, work, family, church, relationships or even the political landscape. Some of them are brought upon ourselves and others are things we cannot control.

How do you navigate those feelings of impotence and frustration?
For me to say that I have arrived at solutions for these on my own would be presumptuous. As a believer and follower of Christ I feel the best solution is to flee to the presence of God.

Here are just two suggestions of how we can do that.

Recognition: Matthew 6:25-32 - Anxiety governs a lot of our lives. We often make decisions invoking God’s name and purpose, but we run ahead of God. We do not stop and consider that for all of man’s history on planet earth, God has clothed nature with His cyclical calendar. His eternal workmanship and purpose is on daily display through his handiwork and surpasses the glory and plans of mankind. We say we trust Him but daily decisions of faith are based in our own mindset rather than His framework. We must recognize His purpose is to guide us into full trust of His purpose for all areas of our lives.

Our Position and Prayer - Our attitude and accompanying prayer is vital. Prayer is the vehicle by which we state before God what is on our minds and in our hearts. In Matthew 6:33, the Lord Jesus Christ is urging those listening to His sermon to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”. This is His answer to the anxieties that life propositions us at times. “Seeking God” in this verse is a covenant statement. William MacDonald suggests that in effect “if you will put God’s interests first in your life, God says He will guarantee your future needs”.

As a local church we are facing new days, may we take to heart God’s urging in Matthew 6 as we move forward and seek the One who calms all anxieties.