Before All (the) Things (Day 67)

The truth: Jesus is first. Is He before all your things?

“He is before all things,
and in Him all things hold together.”
Colossians 1:17 (NIV)

Seeking is simple, but…

My two younger kiddos and I are attempting to read through the New Testament in one year together. (Yes, it’s still January, so we’ll see!) When Matthew 6:33-34 was part of our scheduled reading, I wrote in my journal:

So straightforward,
so simple,
so quickly forgotten!

“But seek first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness,
and all these things
will be added to you.
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Matt. 6:33-34 (ESV)

I spent a fair amount of time thinking about what I was seeking in 2021. I don’t always have a “word of the year,” but for 2021 I did, and it was seek. The word first popped up on my radar in 2020 when I started Unposted Life. With how quickly I forget to seek first the kingdom, it probably needs to become my “word of a lifetime”!

_{[Read other posts about seeking:}_{Day 19}_,_{Day 20}_]

Right Things, Wrong Order

On Day 66, I shared my Personal Tower of PISA acronym:

P is for purpose;
I is for identity;
S is for security;
A is for acceptance.

Oh, how easily I seek…

purpose before I seek His kingdom,
identity outside His kingdom,
security within my own kingdom,
acceptance from others before I seek it from Him.

And what does that cause each & every time???

Anxiety!

Anxiety Antidote

Jesus says,

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow…”
Matt. 6:34

What is the “therefore” there for?

If I seek first His kingdom & His righteousness,
TODAY, I will not be anxious about tomorrow,
because I’ll be too busy trusting Him
with the day I’m in.

So what about all my “things”?

“But seek first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness,
and all these things
will be added to you.”
Matt. 6:33 (ESV)

What You Need Will Be Added

When you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things will be added to you.

As we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, we are living out the truth that Jesus is before all things as Col. 1:17 says.

“He is before all things,
and in Him all things hold together.”
Colossians 1:17 (NIV)

When Jesus,
& His Kingdom,
& His righteousness
have top priority in our lives,
He will add to our lives
all the things we need!
(And only those)

Problematic Priorities

It’s not always about seeking the wrong things, although I am certainly guilty of that. One of my favorite verses to pray is Psalm 141:4:

“Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies.”
Psalm 141:4

Oftentimes we simply get our priorities out of order; however, this simple mistake can wreak utter havoc on our lives! Read Paul’s familiar passage about anxiety.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

These verses are essentially about reordering priorities. Presenting requests to God puts the focus back on Him where it belongs.

By prayer, you are talking to Him about all the things.
In petition, you are continually talking to Him about all the things.
With thanksgiving, you are putting your focus on all the things with which God has already blessed you.

You know what I’m noticing again? None of these actions are the least bit complicated. I can pray right now, right here in front of my computer. I can continue to pray when I get up and go get laundry out of the dryer. Since I’m already praying, why not tell God what I’m thankful for? Simple.

Yet I get so easily distracted.

Testimony of a Highly-Distractible Human

After reading Matt. 6:33-34 for the daily Bible plan I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I was feeling pretty good about things. I was all pumped up about writing for my blog, too, but I needed to grab my phone charger from my bedroom first because my battery was at 12%.

In the bedroom, I saw a jacket which had been discarded on a container and decided to hang it up. Then I got annoyed I had left that particular container there for at least a month when it had no business even being in my bedroom, so I moved it. I went back to my bedroom because I never did grab that charger! Then I went into a mental & emotional shame spiral about how messy my house is, that I don’t like how it’s decorated, that I may never have the time or money or ENERGY to deal with all those things…!?!

Whoa, Alicia. Just grab your phone charger and go to the computer as planned.

God knows about all my things. Jesus promised that if I seek Him first all these things will be added to me. All the things I need, that is. We are still talking about priorities here! There are things I want for which I don’t have the time, money, or energy. And guess what? If they are of no eternal consequence, I may not need them. That’s OK. Jesus is better. And those things I think I could live without, like sickness, accidents, broken appliances — sometimes He knows I need those things to grow me into a person who more closely resembles my suffering Savior.

“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps.”
I Peter 2:21 (NIV)

The truth: Jesus is before all things.
My job: Live out that truth by seeking Him first.