Seek First....

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" Matthew 6:33
(**This post was actually written yesterday, August 21, 2017. I just didn't get to post it here until now!**)
 
       This morning, I had some alone time with God and I wanted to share with you what I learned. I was reading in Matthew the sermon that Jesus gave on the mount. More specifically, I was reading the part where Jesus is telling the poeple to stop worrying about what they will eat or drink or even wear. I've heard this passage preached and read it in devotionals more times than I can remember and the message is always the same: God doesn't want you to worry, He will take care of it. While I believe that is true, I think there is something missing.
 
       Jesus said, "You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and money" God said in Isaiah that HE is the Lord and He will NOT give His glory to another. God is God. He is the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the Creator of ALL creation, the executor of judgment and the giver of grace. His glory and power and might and wisdom and all that He is is so much so that He doesn't even need meaningless words to describe Him. He tells Moses in Exodus, "Tell them I AM has sent you." He is.
 
       So when we worry and fret about having "enough" (I believe) we are essentially robbing God of the glory and honor and praise that rightly belongs to Him. When we worry or become anxious about something we essentially make that thing our master over God. 2 Peter 2:19 says by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.

(Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about life's surprises that come along once in awhile and knock your feet out from under you and leave you on your knees crying out to Jesus for help. Sometimes we all go through things that divert our attention to the circumstance over the One in control of the circumstance. But I am talking about a life and a heart that is characterized by worry and stress and a constant state of striving.)
 
        When we worry and stress, we are not just robbing ourselves of peace, we are robbing our God of His rightful praise and honor. We are robbing Him of His rightful place in our lives. Hebrews 13:5 says to be content with what we have. Why? Not because God is greedy. Not because He doesn't have enough to give. But it is because Jesus Himself said "I will never leave you or forsake you." Jesus Christ who is God and who is with God said He will NEVER LEAVE US! And He, who is worthy of all praise, who's name is above every single name there is or ever will be, who actually has every right that we think we should have ourselves, has said He will be to us everything we could ever need. When we worry about sufficiency, we not only are saying we don't trust Him to give us what we need but, more importantly, we are denying His ALL-sufficiency for us.
 
        Jesus asked the people, "How many of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" The answer is none. Because worrying accomplishes nothing except taking our focus off Jesus and His sufficiency for us. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. What are you seeking today? I confess that I have been guilty of seeking "enough". Even "more than enough". But Jesus promised if we seek Him first, He will take care of all our needs (Matthew 6:33, Phillipians 4:19). Let's give our glory and honor and praise back to the One it rightfully belongs to and give our allegience back to the rightful master, Jesus Christ our LORD and Savior.