Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. – Matthew 6:33
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We all have our worries. What we’ll do after graduation, what our next job will be, if we’ll have enough to pay rent or buy food, and more.
All of these are legitimate things to think about, and especially when we have several questions, the future starts to look a bit vague… or simply gets blurry.
If you’ve ever felt worried because of your future, you’re not alone.
In Matthew chapters 5 and 6, Jesus gives a speech laying out some basic ideas of what’s really
important in life. In one section, He tackles a pretty big topic that’s especially relevant now:
Worry.
In verse 25, He makes a simple statement: don’t worry about your future. Worrying doesn’t add anything to our lives (6:27)… except stress.
He spends several verses explaining how nature is taken care of and says that, if He takes care of it, He’ll surely take care of the very thing that makes creation go from “good” to “very good”:
us.
We might not have our dream car or house, or have lots of money left over.
We might not be CEO of a large company, or play in front of thousands.
But we’ll never have to worry about having food to eat or clothes to wear.
We can trust that God will take care of us.
And there’s one thing that can help us with that: We have to seek Him…
First.
Before we ask for advice (though still ask advice from trustworthy people), before we make decisions, and before anything else happens.
Before we get started with the day’s projects and goals.
It’s actually that simple (Matthew 6:33)!
We have to intentionally prioritize spending time with Him. Otherwise, it’s very easy to get started with the day and realize that it’s the afternoon or evening, and that I haven’t prayed or had some quiet time to slow down.
I try to pray a bit once I wake up, and always try to leave my phone in another room when doing that (more on this in a future post).
Just by making Jesus a priority, I’ve noticed that I feel better throughout the day. Even though things do still come up, it feels easier to handle them — especially worry and stress.
So, what’s the alternative to worrying? Jesus gives us the answer to that, too.
In the last verse of the chapter, Jesus tells us to just focus on one day at a time. Tomorrow will happen tomorrow, and we have enough choices to make for today (v. 34).
The more we focus on one thing at a time, the more faith we have to have, and the stronger our
relationship with God will become.
Do we still plan and make schedules? Absolutely! But, it’s important to make sure our schedules are flexible enough for any changes that might come up.
As we “seek” (a continuous action) God, our thoughts will start looking like His; our plans looking like His; and our actions like His.
Will we still have doubts? Yes.
Will there be times where we don’t know what step to take? Yes.
Will God still be there to help us?
Yes!
Just ask and be patient.
Don’t rush.
Don’t get distracted.
Just keep moving forward one day at a time, and focus your attention on God
Louisiana College Graduate:
B.A. Music, piano concentration
Management/Marketing minor
Berklee College of Music:
M.A. Music Business student
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Social media links: https://linktr.ee/jaredhumphers
