Matthew 6:33 – Seek First His Kingdom

Seek First His Kingdom - Matthew 6:33
Seek First His Kingdom - Matthew 6:33

Matthew 6:33

Human beings are adapted for survival. Just like other animals, we fend for ourselves and try to provide for our needs. Our basic needs are food, clothing and shelter. It is only natural for all our activities in life to be centered around our basic needs as people. 

We work tirelessly because we want to be able to provide for our needs and our family. The need to survive and feed so overwhelms us that we are distracted from the bigger picture of life. Many people spend their final years on the earth wishing they had done things better.

In a bid to survive, many people have missed the true essence of life. Due to the unsettled nature of our world, people miss an opportunity to love, laugh and be a blessing to people. We often focus too much on ourselves that we don’t see how God wants us to live.

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus took time to re-school us on the true way to live. God wants us to seek his kingdom first and he will supply all our needs. This is opposed to how we have learnt to live. It’s difficult to seek God first especially when we have unpaid bills staring us in the face.

Despite all we go through, we must remember that we are God’s creation and he didn’t create us to abandon us. God is a loving father and he wants to take care of us if we will allow him to. We have to choose to either allow God to take care of us or fend for ourselves all alone. Trust me, it’s a whole lot of stress to fend for yourself alone, it pays to allow God to take care of you! 

The only condition God gives us to enjoy his care is to seek his Kingdom first in order of priority. This seems tough to do because it takes a level of faith and trust in God to seek his Kingdom first. To help us know why we should trust God with our needs and burdens while we seek his kingdom, we must understand the fatherhood of God.

The Fatherhood Of God

When we come to believe in God, we become his children and he is our Father (John 1:12). One of the most perfect descriptions of the relationship between God and men is a father to child relationship. This is why Jesus taught us to pray to God saying “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9). God is a very loving and caring Father. He wants to be responsible for all our needs as his children. It pains his heart to see us trying to handle our needs ourselves when he is there to take care of them for us. This is why the Bible tells us to cast our worries and anxieties on God because he cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7) 

One thing we must recognize about the father to child relationship is that children are always dependent on their parents for everything. They have learnt to trust their parents for their smallest needs and their parents, in turn, provide all they need for them. This is why children live an enjoyable and fun-filled life. Children’s lives are usually stress-free because they have learnt to depend upon their parents to provide for them. If we will also have glorious and enjoyable days, we must learn to live like children and depend on our heavenly Father to provide our needs for us.

Won’t it hurt you to see your little children trying to provide for themselves when you have made provision for their needs already? This is the same way God feels when we don’t depend upon him for our needs. 

Parents can only help children that accept their provision. For God to take care of us, we must accept his provision and Fatherhood. We must quit trying to carry our burdens alone and trust God to take care of us. If we don’t learn to depend on God for our needs, there is nothing he can do to help us. 

Living life as God’s children saves us a lot of stress and problems in life. All God requires of us is to seek his Kingdom first and we can be sure he will take care of us.

Living For His Kingdom

It is normal for humans to be self-centred and self-seeking. We love to take care of ourselves first before we take care of other people. If our needs are not met yet, it is difficult for us to even notice the person in need next to us.

However, God does not want us to live this way, he wants us to be selfless and sacrificing. This is indeed the higher way of life. When we live for ourselves alone, we can’t make any lasting impact on the earth. The Bible confirms that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). We must live a life seeking what we can give to humanity rather than what we can receive. This is a truly blessed life.

Seeking God’s kingdom means that we look beyond ourselves to living for God’s will and his purposes alone. We must go where he wants us to go and do what he wants us to do. This way, he will use us to be a blessing to people all around us. 

As you go all out fulfilling God’s will, you may wonder who will take care of your own needs and welfare. Matthew 6:33 answers that! God is committed to taking care of those who are committed to his purposes. God will never leave the personal needs of those who have pledged loyalty to his will unattended to. David confirmed this in Psalm 37:25.

God will take care of you many times better than you can ever do for yourself. He knows you more than you know yourself. He knows your needs even before you utter them out. Why not let him take care of you?

Start living for God’s Kingdom today and watch him take care of you and all yours.

King James Version (KJV)

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

New International Version (NIV)

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

“But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

New American Bible (NASB)

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.”

English Standard Version (ESV)

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

The Living Bible (TLB)

“and he will give them to you if you give him first place in your life and live as he wants you to.”

Seek First the Kingdom

This passage is so powerful. These are the words of Jesus at the Sermon on the Mount. This is the second part of many powerful teachings of Jesus in these chapters. Only a few verses before this, Jesus tells us how to pray, in a  model prayer, The Lord’s Prayer.

The context of this verse is Jesus’ response to our worry. He has been on the earth over 30 years at this point. He has been steadfast in His mission. But he has also heard people complaining, worrying about things like clothing and food. People were (and still are today) focused on worldly, temporary goods – which don’t sustain us eternally.

Even back in Matthew 4, Jesus said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Again, this message was to the ‘tempter’ himself. It is not about the bread that we physically hunger for. Yes, He will provide that as he says in Matthew 6:33. But we are to Seek Him first. We are to put our focus on Him. We are to rest at His feet.

In a single day, there are many applications of Seeking the Kingdom first. In choices that we make – We can either choose the world or choose Jesus.

The first step we can take every single day is to make sure we spend time in the Word. If we aren’t doing that at all, we need to start somewhere. Open Matthew, read a little every day and take notes. Or if we are already doing that, then we need to dig deeper. Start memorizing, studying more.

And prayer. Prayer should be a daily spiritual routine. We should speak to our Father daily. Then throughout the day, when we are struggling at work or at home – we stop take a moment and ask God for help.

The rest is allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us and direct our steps. But there will be decisions. And we can make choices. It doesn’t just fall into place. Step three is being intentional, and making choices that align with the Word. With God’s will.

I pray that this year will be blessed and fruitful for you and your family!