It is so easy to get our priorities mixed up in this life we live these days. Praying, reading the Bible, and going to church are fine and good—but when we have bills to pay, food to put on the table, and clothes to take care of, then surely God can wait for just a little while—right? We sometimes wonder, is God more important? Who has enough time these days to really learn about God and Jesus anyway?
There are plenty of things that have to be done first. Besides, aren’t there some Bible verses somewhere that say that we must do all we can to take care of what we should eat, drink, etc., because God knows that we need all of these?
God is fully mindful of exactly what we require, all the time. He is never unaware of our present condition, nor surprised or worried about it.
God Will Take Care of Our Necessities
Jesus does speak to us directly about taking care of our necessities, but not in the way that we have often been led to believe. What He actually said was, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles [those that do not know God] seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” (Matthew 6:31,32 emphasis added).
God is fully mindful of exactly what we require, all the time. He is never unaware of our present condition, nor surprised or worried about it. He is more interested in the matter of priority. Is God more important or our daily petty concerns? If we had to leave town, would we take a rope and pull the car down the road, or get inside it and let it carry us where we need to go? As long as we keep God last, then it is like dragging the vehicle behind us. He wants us to put Him and His Kingdom first in our life, and then He will carry us through the rest.
Seek First God’s Kingdom
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”(Matthew 6:33 emphasis added). Rather than spending most of our time and effort trying to please family, friends, employers, and others, let’s first make time for God.
Put aside the novels, magazines, comics, and shows on the television or computer, and read His Word. Then reflect on what He has said. Instead of spending several minutes a day (or week!) in prayer trying to communicate with Him and getting nowhere, we ought to remove something from our schedule and take at least that much time we saved, or even more, to go before Him.
The more we attend to His business, the more God will attend to us and our needs. The psalmist declared, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” (Psalms 37:15). And Jesus said, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself…” (Matthew 6:34).
Is God More Important Than Any of Our Desires and Needs?
Where is the emphasis in our life? Is God more important or is there something else? Is He being sought before our wants and earthly desires? In a proper marriage relationship, the wife does not go around finding ways to support herself, constantly worrying about whether she has enough to eat or a place to live. She pours out her love and places her confidence in her husband, who in turn provides for and takes care of her.
In a similar manner, God wants to provide our necessities, but we must come to Him before anything else in our life, and that must include our family and friends. He knows the state we are in better than we know it ourselves. Which kingdom are we pursuing after: God’s or our own? For the best results in this life, put God first, then ourselves!
[Additional image credits: Featured image (when available) by Ben White on Unsplash; Opening images (clockwise) image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images; from Pixabay, image by Tumisu from Pixabay, image by BedexpStock from Pixabay, image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay; (media collage) Clker-Free-Vector-Images&StockSnap/pixabay; StockSnap/pixabay]
