He Adds All Other Things

Read |Matthew 6:33|

Matthew 6:33 encourages us to “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”(NLT). The passage promises that if we  prioritize our relationship with God and live righteously through obedience to and by the power of His Spirit, then all of our needs will be supplied. Some of us have been doing this all year and still feel unfulfilled. How is this possible? I believe it is our limited understanding of “and he will give you everything you need”, which leaves us calling into question God’s faithfulness to provide.

Experience has taught me that as we seek the Kingdom of God, through developing a relationship with Him, we come to live, breathe and appreciate His beauty. We come to see Him rightly, as One who delights in showing His love for us through generous provision--provision He calls us to take hold of by faith. We are empowered to rise up and take possession of all that God has already provided for us. Sometimes we live in our own cocoons and limit ourselves by believing that this is all we can have and achieve. Seeking God first liberates us from our shackles and gives us the power to try again and never give up on ourselves.

How do we seek God first? By making the choice, over and over again, to love God above everything else. By holding the revelations of His goodness and worth before us and above the arguments of the world that would elevate anything above the knowledge of God. (2 Corinthians 10:5). We prioritize Him in the investment of our resources of time, gift and treasure. Then like all growing things, we feed that relationship with prayer and fasting, reading our Bible and meditating on the word, and maintaining contact with God every day. With this special diet, overtime we feel confident and bolder and begin to see ourselves the way God sees us; beautiful, smart and extra special! We begin to love ourselves more and more each day! Why? Because we come to know Him in whose image we've been made. We come to see He is beautiful, loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled (Galatians 5: 22 - 23) and the Word, "So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them," (Genesis 1:27, NLT), takes on new meaning. We see that we too have been made to be as such by His Spirit. We catch a glimpse of the truth and are emboldened to embrace it all!

We come to understand that we are ONE OF A KIND. We are one of a particular type of being. We are one of many, who too are made in the image of God. We come to treasure others, because we have been convicted in our hearts that God is beautiful and good--that He is worthy--and this truth transforms how we see ourselves and others forever.
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When we begin to develop a healthy image of God, self and others then the things we work so hard for do not override our perception of what is important. While the things we work very hard for are very important, like our homes, vehicles, phones, clothing and other paraphernalia, these should never be the instruments we use to measure our self worth and that of others. They are not God, not makers of people and not equivalent to us. They are instruments, i.e. things to be acquired and used as a part of the larger story God has written in which we are one with Him and living lovingly with others, as His beloved.

In seeking God first, all other things are added. He adds right relationship with Him, ourselves, others and things. He adds power to rise above and endure, that we may claim all His promises. So as you embrace 2019, set as your first priority seeking His kingdom and righteousness.

A Kickstart to the New Year
1. Consider using this thoughtfully created planning tool from our sisters in the Beloved Women Community to support you in prioritizing God this New Year: The Beloved Planner.

2. Join the discussion in our Be-Held Book Community about our relationship with God, self, others and things, as we read "Finding Holy in the Suburbs: Living Faithfully in the Land of Too Much" by Ashley Hales.