Seek first His Kingdom .. all these thing will be added unto you

The full quote from Matthew 6:33 is “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” In context  Jesus telling us not to worry about the basics of life such as food and drink and clothing. He reminds us that our heavenly Father knows what we need (verses 31,32). Someone said that to worry, is to put more faith in the Devil to trip us up, than for the Lord to come through for us. To worry is to see disaster in the future and to fixate on it. It is failing to trust God. The next verse (34) is telling us that we need to live in the moment because “each day has its own trouble.” So we need to live one day at a time. The “But” in verse 33 indicates a turning, an "instead." It is telling us we need to replace worry, not wrestle with it. We should instead, make seeking the Kingdom and His righteousness our first priority. The promise then kicks in “all these things added” essentially telling us that our needs will be met.

This morning’s quote is from the sermon on the mount, and is part of a whole section about not worrying. In verse 27 Jesus asks “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” He is pointing out the uselessness of worry, it is totally unproductive, it changes nothing. In fact it is worse than that, the Psalmist tells us that fret and worry cause harm (Psalm 37:8). So how do we live in the moment, how do we cease from worry? It starts with a change of perspective. In verse 26 we are told to consider the birds of the air, they do not work for their needs,  yet our heavenly Father feeds them. Jesus then asks “Are you not not more valuable than they?” Again He points to the grass of the fields and the lilies, which are even more splendid that the glory of Solomon. We are then asked if He cloths the lilies that perish,  will He not cloth us, oh we of little faith?

 

So it’s about faith, about trust in God, about believing that He knows my needs and that He will provide what I need when I need it. It is about knowing who I am in Him, it’s about coming to Him as a little child. Now I need to be honest this morning, I seem to need these reminders over and over. Worry is not logical for the Christian, but nevertheless it does seem to be the default. It helps me to remember what He has done and to thank Him (thanksgiving is part of the “prayer and supplication with thanksgiving" of Philippians 4:4-7). I recently started taking time at the end of the day,  to thank Him for three things in my day, and I just reviewed this month’s thankfulness and it helps. The low level anxiety I was feeling is diminishing, and the peace returning.

Father, thank You for the practicality of faith, of Your Word,  and of the Spirit who comes along side of us to encourage, strengthen and establish us. Lord when we catch ourselves worrying help us to remember who we are in You, that You care for us,  and that You have promised that when we seek Your first, You will supply all of our needs according to You riches in Glory in Jesus Name Amen