I began writing this Seek First study as part of a personal 90-day challenge to renew and strengthen some foundational habits. The Sermon on the Mount just seemed like a good place to start. My focus throughout this study has been what I consider to be the core of the teaching. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” The core of the teachings from Jesus gets back to the basics. It is easy to get caught up in the details and for life to become a checklist of doing all the right things. A quick search of the internet will pull up thousands of checklists for everything. And it seems like almost every problem in life you may ever encounter and every goal you would ever want to achieve has a “10 easy steps” checklist to accomplish that feat.
We all know that life cannot be conquered in 10 easy steps. Life is hard and is made up of hundreds of little decisions every day. Some of these decisions move us forward, some keep us where we are, and some move us backwards a little. That is life. It is not 10 easy steps. It is hard to get up and exercise, pray, and read the bible every day. I am busy and it is hard to carve out the time. It is also hard to try to build a life without doing those things. Without the exercise, I am tired, I don’t think as clearly, and it is difficult to physically do the things I need to do. Without prayer and bible study, I don’t have the wisdom and clarity in decision making and problem solving. When I don’t have that relationship with God, I begin to try to solve all the problems for myself and take on those burdens. I begin to build my life on my own wisdom and understanding, which is not very much. Jesus says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Put God first and he will take care of everything else. Trust God, and he will provide the answers. God will always provide everything that we need. He loves to give great gifts to his children.
Every structure is built on a foundation. That foundation determines how solid and how big that structure can be. The stronger and bigger the foundation, the bigger the building can be. If you want to build a “bigger” life, you must first build a bigger foundation. Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness and you will have a solid foundation. If you do that, you will have a bigger life. It may not be the “bigger life” that you are envisioning right now, but it will be grand.
Life is made up of hundreds of small decisions. Every decision we make either strengthens or destroys our foundation. Life is hard. It is hard to be disciplined, but the results are amazing. It is easier to not be disciplined, but the result of an undisciplined life is hard. Choose to build a solid foundation for your life. A foundation that is built on seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Develop the habit of prayer to build that relationship with God. Not a set of memorized prayers, but spend quiet time talking to God about everything going on in your life. If you are angry with God, tell him. If you are excited, tell him. Talk to God like you would your best friend. Find a quiet place and be still. Listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you. When you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, the worries and anxiety of life begin to go away as you realize that God loves you and He will take care of everything.
Develop the habit of daily bible reading. Not a set bible reading plan and trying to read through the bible as fast as you can. Read the bible slowly and think about what it means. What is God telling me today? Maybe I read an entire chapter or more, and maybe It is only a verse or two. One of my favorite things to do is to read a chapter of Proverbs every day. I have done this many times and every time I see something different. No matter what I am going through in my life, there is always something in Proverbs that addresses it. A daily time to study and think about the scriptures is how we seek first God’s righteousness.
The foundation I build is the most important part of my life. Every thought. Every action. Everything I do is a reflection of the foundation I have built. You will know a tree by the fruit it produces. The foundation I build is the seed that becomes the tree. What fruit is my tree producing? That is a great indicator of the health and strength of my foundation.
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Matthew 7: 24-27
Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and your life will be able to withstand the biggest storms this world can throw at it, and it will not fall.
