The first step to getting what you want in life is knowing what you want. Jesus said, in essence, ‘The key to getting what you want out of life is to focus on what I want for your life.’ Note the words ‘seek first’. This word ‘seek’ means ‘to strive for diligently’ or ‘to desire strongly’. The action is continuous. It says, ‘Keep on striving for, keep on seeking, keep on desiring daily.’ When Jesus says, ‘Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,’ it means you don’t have to pray about what your top priority in life ought to be; everything you do will be ordered by those two things. Where you work, how you spend your time, the person you marry, how you manage your money, the relationships you form, the pastimes you enjoy, the purchases you make – all of these will be sifted and sorted through one filter: ‘Is this for His kingdom? Does it relate to His righteousness?’ Can’t you see how living this way would transform your marriage, your work, your family, your finances, and every other area of your life? But in order to pursue the priorities of the kingdom, you must first have a relationship with the King. You won’t even know where the kingdom is, or what it looks like, until you know the King. And you can know Him. How? As you open the pages of His Word and open your heart, there He will reveal Himself to you. And as you spend time with Him in prayer, He will respond to you.

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.