Seeking Him First

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.” – Matthew 6.33-34

From a commonsense standpoint, our Lord’s commandment to seek His kingdom and righteousness first – before, or, above all other things – is bold, even outrageous. His words contain no subtlety; they are clear as liquid, stark enough to shatter glass; direct, unqualified – like hard rain on desert soil. In essence, Christ is saying that seeking Him – His kingdom, His Righteousness – must take the main stage of life while all other occupations remain perennially ‘in the wings.’
But how can I when, from the first moment of waking consciousness, my mind is crowded with the persistent concerns and pressing obligations of the day? When the baby at my knee is vying for attention? Or the school age child is baring his temper? Or the notice arrives in the mail telling me my electricity will be turned off if I cannot pay my bill?
How, in these dark days of economic crisis and turmoil, can I possibly manage to “seek first His kingdom” when it feels as though my own kingdom is falling apart?
Just who does God think He is, after all, demanding that I seek Him first?
Of course, that one is easy: He thinks He is God. The great “I AM;” alpha and omega, unchanging, uncreated, Creator God; Who knit my soul together in my mother’s womb; Who recognizes my frailty, and is mindful that I am ‘but dust;’ but Who – in spite of all these things – loved me enough to die a sinner’s death and pay my ransom in order that I could not only be with Him in His Kingdom, but like Him in righteousness.
In His providence, He knows what is best for me, and because He is good, he insists that I have it – namely, Himself. Seek Me first, He says, and if you do, I will add to you every other essential thing. Food and clothing – give no thought to these. Instead, feed yourself on Me; clothe yourself with Me. Renounce your stubborn ways – your insistent belief that you know best how to meet your needs – and I will meet your needs out of My abundance and riches.
It scarcely needs saying that if we are looking for reasons not to seek Him, all we must do is look around. The woman who makes it her aim in life to seek God first will be bombarded by obstacles that appeal to her fears, distractions that seek all the time to wrench her view away from her Heavenly Father. God knows this; thus in order to safeguard His own from squandering their existence, He commands us “not to worry about tomorrow.”
God knows the very real, and very grave, threats that face His people, both within and outside themselves; but He also knows that worry does not add a single hour to a woman’s life (Matt. 6.27). Those who worry waste their time rather than redeem it. God knows and, indeed, promises us that in this world we will have trouble; but He reminds us over and again, in words of angels – behold, I have overcome the world!