Seek God's Face
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or
‘What shall we drink?’ or
‘What shall we wear?’
32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek.
For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
This Bible passage clearly instructs us to seek the things of God before anything else. Sometimes, we forget this and try to earn God's blessings through our good works.
As children at school, we received gold stars and smiley faces for good behaviour. As adults, it is easy to convince ourselves that we are owed blessings from God just for serving Him. Of course, there are several perks of knowing God and being his children but God does not owe us a thing. He has already paid our debt of sin, in full, with the precious blood of his son Jesus (Eph 1:7-9). We literally owe Him our lives. In Philippians 3:7-9, Paul goes as far as to say that nothing in his life surpasses the knowledge of Christ:
"What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ."
We serve God because we love Him. We serve God because we want to use our gifts to exalt Him (Rom 12:6-8). We do not serve God to get things from Him. We cannot bribe God with our works; all of our righteousness is like "filthy rags" before Him (Isaiah 64:6). All we have, we received through grace (Rom 5:1-2).
What moves the heart of God? He loves us. He wants to hear from us, speak to us and spend time with us. Hebrews 11:6 says God is a "rewarder of those who diligently seek Him". Diligently.
It's definitely not wrong to expect God to do great things in our lives, but in serving Him, we must check our motives. Are we seeking God's face or just His hand? He is omniscient and cannot be deceived.
In Philippians 4:19, we learn that God will supply all our needs according to his riches in glory. His word tells us not to worry because God knows what we need before we ask (Matt 6:31).
Proverbs 8:17-8 says:
"I love those who love me,
And those who seek me diligently will find me.
Riches and honour are with me,
Enduring riches and righteousness."
Whatever you are trusting God for, seek Him first.
Check in later for Part Two.
In the meantime, enjoy this - Living For Your Glory by UK worship leader, Tim Hughes.
Very true Alice. We cannot bribe God. All we do for Him must be motivated by our love for Him for what He has already done and doing in our lives. Serving God or giving to His work must not be like playing the Lottery. Remain abundantly blessed.
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