Seek God First - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - April 11, 2025
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:31-34 (NIV)
Life throws a lot at us, doesn’t it? From the moment we wake up, our minds can easily get flooded with concerns about everything we have to do and everything we’re worried about. But Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount, tells us not to worry about anything we need, such as what we will eat, drink, or wear each day.
Jesus doesn’t dismiss our needs; he changes our perspective. He points out that worrying about basic needs is what people who don't know God well do. Jesus says: “For the pagans run after all these things…” (Matthew 6:32). This refers to people outside a relationship with the living God, who don’t know what a loving and trustworthy Heavenly Father he is.
But for those who know God, Jesus says: “… and your heavenly Father knows that you need them” (Matthew 6:32). Our Heavenly Father is intimately aware of every single one of our specific needs. He knows about our grocery list, our bills, our work projects, and much more. He pays close attention to our needs because he’s a loving parent. So, we never need to worry about getting our needs met!
Jesus tells us in this passage what we should do instead: “…seek first his kingdom and his righteousness…” (Matthew 6:33). We can do that by making God’s priorities our priorities – centering our lives around God’s rule (“his kingdom”) and his character (“his righteousness”). Seeking God’s kingdom means wanting God’s will to be done on earth as in heaven. It involves lining up our lives with God’s purposes so we can participate in God’s kingdom work as God leads us to do so. Seeking God’s righteousness means pursuing personal holiness with God’s help so we can reflect God’s character, while still recognizing our ultimate righteousness is a gift through our faith in Jesus. We can try our best, day by day, to live out the righteousness Jesus gave us through his ultimate sacrifice for us.
Notice the order of what Jesus says: seek God first, before anything else. Jesus wants us to intentionally make our relationships with God our highest priority so God comes first in every single part of our lives. Before worries creep into our minds each morning, we can focus on God. When we notice that we’re starting to worry about something, we can turn that worry into a prayer and trust God to answer by providing what we need, when we need it. We can build a habit of praying about everything that concerns us so we can avoid unnecessary worrying and experience more of God’s peace.
What happens when we seek God first? Jesus gives us a wonderful promise: “…and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). “All these things” are the basic necessities of our lives. God doesn’t promise to make us wealthy, but he does promise he will give us everything we really need. When we focus on God, we can relax in the confidence that God is taking good care of our needs. We can let go of worrying and enjoy trusting God instead.
Finally, Jesus encourages us: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34). He makes it clear that we’ll go through challenges but urges us not to worry about the future. God will help us with today – this present time – every day. Worrying about tomorrow doesn’t achieve anything good. Jesus calls us to live faithfully in the present, trusting God for this day’s needs and having faith that God will be there to help us tomorrow.
Seeking God first gives us the perspective we need to see that God is much greater than any of our worries!
Let’s pray:
Dear God, please forgive me for letting worrying about my needs consume me. Help me to break free from anxiety and truly seek your kingdom and your righteousness above all else. I trust that you know what I need and will faithfully provide it from day to day. Give me the strength to live fully for you today and to trust you to meet my needs tomorrow. Thank you, my wonderful Heavenly Father. Amen.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Boonyachoat
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Today we're doing something a little different. Instead of going deep in a passage, we're talking about what to do when deep feels like too much — when you need less, not more. Specifically, I'm walking you through one of my favorite practices for weary seasons: handwriting scripture.
Not typing it. Not scrolling past it. Actually writing it out, slowly, in your own hand — because something happens in your brain when you do that. The words land differently. They go deeper. And over time, they become part of that personal library of God's voice that the Holy Spirit can pull from when you need it most. That's what Psalm 119:11 means when it says I have hidden your word in my heart — it's scripture moving into your long-term memory, where it lives and stays even when you haven't opened your Bible in weeks.
I'm sharing the five verses I wrote out for myself today — and why each one hit me fresh even though I've known some of them for years. This episode is part of our How to Study the Bible Podcast, a show that brings life back to reading the Bible and helps you understand even the hardest parts of Scripture. If this episode helps you know and love God more, be sure to follow the How to Study the Bible Podcast on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
