The Lord
placed this question on my heart to ask, what are you seeking? What or who do
you put first on your priority list; money, fame, stature in the community,
material things, selfish ambition, other people? Ask yourself, what number is
the Lord on you priority list? Many say that He is first and foremost, yet
their words and actions say otherwise. Believers have been deceived by the
world’s beliefs and notion that we are to “follow our dreams” to “chase after”
them. This is not Biblical and it is a ploy, a distraction tactic from Satan to
have believers’ thoughts and actions far removed from God. “Following” or
“chasing” after something other than an intimate relationship with the Lord,
causes one to focus on that object or desire. It leads down a path of choices
that is controlled by the individual for personal fulfillment. Motives for more
money, validation and accolades from others, an expensive house, nice cars,
nice clothes…become the reasons for “following” the dream.
Is it wrong
to have dreams and achieve them? Of course not! However, as believers, we must
put things in the proper order as God’s word informs us to. The Lord gave us
the desires of our hearts in the first place. So if He gave them to us, then He
has a plan for them to come to fruition. It’s up to us to seek the Lord, find
out what His instructions are and then implement them. All of this is based on
the Lord’s time frame! When we follow the Lord’s instructions and wait for His
timing, we always get His perfection!!!
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” -Matthew 6:33
Right before
this scripture Jesus is speaking about not getting caught up in worry
concerning our life, clothes, food… i.e. material things. He states that if the birds of the air and
the lilies of the field don’t toil/worry about living why should we. He then goes on to question the portion size
of our faith asking, “O you of little faith?” Then Jesus reassures us that our
heavenly Father knows that we need all the things pertaining to living. When
you understand what Jesus was saying it really does bring into question our
faith and trust in the Lord. How much do we believe in Him, that it causes us
to worry about provision? So why is Jesus telling us to seek the kingdom of God
first? Let’s define the word seek: try to find, to look for, try to get; strive
to effect, aim at, strive after; enquire about; try to learn by asking; to pursue.
By these definitions of the word seek; we see the pattern of it being an action
of following and working at something. So if we seek the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, we are following after Him. We are submitting to the Lord’s will
and being obedient to His word and voice. To seek God first, is to put Him
first and foremost in your life. When the Lord is first in ALL aspects of your
life ALL the time, there is no reason for worry! There is no reason for chasing
after something; in the Lords timing it comes to you! Remember the verse said
“and all these things shall be added to you.” This is a kingdom principle!!!
It’s in the word of God, He is sovereign and His word will never change.
Consider His kingdom principles’ being as gravity is to the earth, they shall
never cease! Genesis 8:22 states, “While the earth remains, seedtime and
harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not
cease." Here the harvest for seeking the Lord first is: “all these things
shall be added to you.”
Are you the magnet or the metal?
To fully
understand the question, let’s define each.
Magnet: A piece
of material that attracts some metals by magnetism. From chemistry we know that a metal: is one that is a chemical element as distinguished from an alloy or mixture. The
magnet has a magnetic field, a circumference around it that can pull/draw the
metal to it and attach. If you put numerous metal objects near the magnet, they
will overtake the magnet inasmuch that you can no longer see the magnet, only
the objects surrounding it. Once these objects stick to the magnet they’re
attached for good unless another force pulls them off or the magnet loses its
power for some reason. The metal is powerless in this situation, it can’t move
and it is attached to something it may not want to be attached too!
The book of Deuteronomy in chapter 28 tells us the blessings
of obedience. Verse 1-2 states: “Now it
shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to
observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord
your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.” “And all these
blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of
the Lord your God.” Now verse 12 states, “The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the
rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You
shall lend to many nations but you shall not borrow.”
In the scope of this analogy, the verses above are telling us
once again a kingdom principle. “Now it shall come to pass,” this meaning that
the Lord said it then it is so. The verse then uses the word “if.” This word is
stating that it is our choice to choose to obey. When we do obey, the Lord’s
blessings shall come upon us, “overtake” us; we become the magnet! Then all of
our “dreams” that we want to pursue…we don’t have to “chase them” or “follow”
them. Because the Lord will “open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to
give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your
hand,” you don’t have to chase after anything. In seeking the kingdom of God
and obeying His voice, you are no longer the medal chasing after things and
becoming attached to everything else but God. You become the magnet to the
Lord’s blessings; His will, His favor, His protection, His anointing, His
abundance, fulfilling your purpose, fulfilling the dreams that the Lord gave to
you, the fruits of the Spirit and being whole in every aspect of your life!!!
©2013 Obedience Ministries
