KEY VERSE:
“ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Matthew 6:31-33
Matthew 6:31-33 is such a powerful piece of scripture. In light of God’s bountiful care for those who belong to Him, the questions posed in verse 31 are actually unanswerable and the underlying attitudes are thoughtless and an affront to God, who knows intimately the needs of His children. Even worse still, for us who are in Christ, such attitudes are essentially pagan, for pagans “run after” these things instead of God’s Kingdom and His righteousness. Jesus called His disciples to live lives qualitatively different from those lives of people who have no trust in God’s fatherly care nor any fundamental goals or expectations beyond mere material things.
Jesus was not simply asking His disciples to refrain from the pursuit of temporal things. Instead, they are to replace such pursuits with goals of far greater significance. To seek first the Kingdom is to desire above all to enter into, submit to, and participate in spreading the news of the saving reign of God while storing up treasures in Heaven as a way of life.
To make the Kingdom of God your primary concern means to put God first in every area of your life, to fill your thoughts with His desires, to imitate His character and to obey and serve Him in everything. In essence there are only two kinds of ambition: one can be either ambitious for oneself or for God. When we are ambitious for God and His Kingdom, Jesus’ disciples are assured that their heavenly Father will give all necessary things to them. Laura’s testimony today is evidence to this truth.
Remember, we are urged to seek above else, God’s Kingdom. The verb ‘seek’ implies being continually absorbed in a search for something, or making a strenuous and diligent effort to obtain something. Think of this in terms of a child coming to a loving parent; we have the privilege of continually coming to God, our Father in Heaven. He knows what is good for us and with confidence we can entrust ourselves to Him.
Like Jesus, let the cry of your heart be: “Father, in this situation and through these circumstances, Your will be done!” Take confidence in His promise of provision as you tackle this day.
TESTIMONY
LAURA JACOBS
2020 has been quite a year. Let me tell you how God provided for us as a family:
In the months leading up to lockdown, Josh started a new job. Sadly, due to unforeseen circumstances, he would soon lose this job but bounced back by starting his own, flourishing business. Then, as lockdown hit, like so many others, Josh was not able to work. During this time, our landlord informed us that we would need to move out. Finding new accommodation wouldn’t, in-and-of-itself, have bothered us, but when added to a global pandemic, inability to generate income due to restrictions, limited cash reserves, arrears left, right and centre, and extended family demands, the pressure became overwhelming.
The situation really started to suck the fun out of life; from the outside looking in we were in a pretty hopeless situation. But we are not of this world, though we live in it. We had every faith that God would provide a way for us to come through this season. It was this faith in God that kept us from anxiety, kept us from having a breakdown, kept us alive with hope and gave us His peace. We prayed daily for God to move in our situation. We asked our Life Group and prayer partners to intercede with us. Throughout the 10 weeks of lockdown God provided us with His peace, joy, grace and love.
But God didn’t stop there: with His help we were able to find a new home, go back to work and start paying off our debts. God was faithful in all that we lacked because we found our hope in Him and I’m so thankful for His faithfulness to us.
What has God said to you through today’s promise?