A relationship with God is the answer to all we seek. “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). We need to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness, not to be good and holy, but to live well. We are made right with God through our faith, believing in His works, and not of our own effort. God accepts us on the basis of what Jesus did, and we are declared perfect and righteous by Him (See Romans 10:4).
Normalizing spirituality: Getting righteous and being in alignment with the ways of the kingdom and getting healthy is one and the same thing. To have “all these things given to you” requires us to seek righteousness in another way. To become people who are not only righteous in the eyes of God, but also we need to live out that righteousness in your everyday life. When most people look to God to improve their life, they look at what He is going to do for them. If they struggle at work, they ask God for a new job. If they have struggles in their relationships, they ask God to change the other person. If they are sick, they ask for healing. While God does bless us with better jobs, heals our relationships and more, He also wants to make US better as well. Righteous living with a kingdom mentality and a healthy, successful life are one in the same.
Doing our part: As we partner with God, we grow and become more mature. We want the results from God, that is, the fruit and His blessings. If we do not possess these things, the reason may be that we are not changing and growing in the needed ways. For example, you may need a new job, but if you are not becoming more responsible, you won’t get one. God often gives us the things we are mature enough to use. So until we grow in character that reflects God’s attributes, we will not have them. God develops our character as we face the truth. It is very painful to face the hurtfulness we have experienced, but when we do, we get our lives back. We can feel again and begin to trust people and let them in closer to our hearts. We become more sensitive to the struggles of others, and begin to have more empathy, show them kindness and understanding. This is the righteousness Paul is talking about in Ephesians 4:25 where he tells us to put off falsehood and be more honest with each other.
Commitment to God: Change means we stop doing the same thing over and over again and begin to do things God’s way. We have to be honest about ourselves and our feelings. We have to stop hiding the hurt. We have to become more responsible. We have to learn to confront people or to stop controlling others. We have to learn to delay gratification. The point is to have the growth and life we want, requires us to do things God’s way. Doing things God’s way first requires repentance. We put off the old ways of doing things and turn to the ways God does things (see Ephesians 4:22-24). Next we are to seek more and more to understand and gain insight into what is best (see Philippians 1:9-10). And then we are to commit to the pain of discipline in order to grow (see Heb. 12:11).
Everyday living: Seeking God first means that we know Him as the God of grace and who is for us. He is the one who will provide for you what you need. We must give up our own self-help program. But we can’t just have Him and have it all done. We also have to be changed into people who can produce the fruit of the life we desire, and we do that by finding His ways and learning to live them.
Seeking God first means that we know Him as the God of grace and who is for us.
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