“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33).
A PROMISE
Our first instinct in a crisis is often to look to our own interests and wellbeing – to seek our own kingdom. But the truth of the human experience is that we may or may not be able to look after ourselves, and often don’t truly know what it is that we need. The promise of Matthew 6:33 is that as we seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness, he will provide for all our needs. Keep prioritising pursuit of his Kingdom and his righteousness because he knows what you need. he loves to provide and care for you (Matt. 6:32). And because he is a good Father, he loves to give us, not only what we need, but also the good things we desire.
A QUESTION
Thus, a simple question follows. Will you trust him to provide for you? Will you trust that he really does know what you need. Will you choose to trust him again tomorrow? And the day after? And the next day? Will you trust him enough to let go of your own agenda and pursue his kingdom and his righteousness.
A DANGER
The temptation is to read this verse as though it said, “if I seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, then he won’t disrupt my status quo.” In other words, even though it may not be a conscious thought, we think we can manipulate this promise to bend his will to ours. The reality is that much of our lives are built around things we desire and think we deserve, but aren’t true necessities. While these are not bad things, we often hold onto them so tightly that we begin to view them as necessities. Truly seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness will help us begin sorting out the parts of our lives built around our desires and the parts built around our need so that when God exercises his sovereign right to disrupt the status quo (like right now…), we won’t be quite so surprised. Perhaps, with time, we will even to begin to respond with the same humility as Job (Job 42:1-6).
A PERSPECTIVE
As we seek his kingdom and his righteousness, our perspective on our wants and needs will change. Pursuit of his kingdom and his righteousness will produce desire for his kingdom and his righteousness. In turn, we will become more realistic about the things we truly need, while at the same time becoming more willing to sacrifice desires, as well as needs, for the greater good of the kingdom. The crisis then becomes an opportunity to know him more deeply and to join him in what he is doing (Jam. 1:2-4; Rom. 5:2-5). And as we rely on him for our needs and our desires become aligned with his, he will satisfy the desires of our hearts (Ps. 37:4).
