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In an earlier post I posed the question, “what can we do during the waiting time?” While the short answer is to be still or cease striving, I think there is something we can do — Seek first His kingdom and righteousness. Change our focus. Stop worrying about that which we are waiting for, and direct our attention instead on what God wants us to be doing with our lives.
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34
This has been, and continues to be, a life verse for me, as it has kept me going through all of life’s ups and downs. When we had bills due and not enough money to pay them, and I would start getting anxious and think, “what should we do,” the Lord would guide me to this verse. My husband and I have served in the youth ministry ever since we got married and every year we spend a week during the summer at camp. It has always been always a great week of seeing the Lord work, but it has also been a week of no work and no paycheck. When I would get anxious because the bills were still due, the Lord would point me to this verse. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So in faith we would go serve the Lord at youth camp. And He always took care of us. Money didn’t necessarily fall from the sky, and we may not have have gotten extra from anywhere else, but we always had enough.
I’ve been reading the autobiography of Brother Andrew, a man who smuggled bibles behind the iron curtain during the Cold War when communist persecution of the church was prevalent. There are so many examples of seeking first the Kingdom of God in his life. So many times that he and his wife had a great need but no funds. Fulfillment of that need was impossible in his own strength. But, with God nothing is impossible. So they prayed and continued in faith to seek to build God’s kingdom, and God provided for their needs.
One instance of great faith was when he had his heart set on producing special small bibles for Russia in order to make it easier for more people to have one. But there was a huge cost involved. The only way they could think to come up with the money was to sell their house — the house they were currently living in. They knew God would provide another place for them to live, and they felt strongly about the enormous need for the people of Russia to have bibles. Because of their faith and desire to serve the Lord they put their house on the market. A week later they received a call from the Bible Society saying they would support the production and pay the entire cost upfront! Andrew only had to purchase the bibles he needed at the time and for half the cost! What a praise and an answer! They immediately took their house off the market. The Lord knew their need of a place to live as well as the need of making special bibles for Russia and He provided abundantly.
I am to be focused on doing God's will for my life and trust that He not only knows my needs but will provide for them Click To TweetBut what about those of us who are not missionaries to foreign countries — how do we seek first the Kingdom of God? Let’s go to the Word of God — Deuteronomy 6:5-7 tells me, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” In light of that, one thing I am to be doing is teaching my children about God. When my mind is set on presenting the gospel and on discipleship rather than worrying about whatever the problem of the moment may be, then I am seeking first the Kingdom of God. I am to be focused on doing God’s will for my life and trust that He not only knows my needs but will provide for them.
That is just one example of God’s will for your life now, right where you are. In the next post we will look at other ways we can be seeking His kingdom.
What are some ways you can be focusing on building the Lord’s kingdom right now, where you are, in the midst of the chaos?
