So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’  For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.  Matthew 6:31-33 HCSB

I have a certain order or system I use when I do certain things.  When I wash dishes by hand, I wash utensils first, glassware, plates, serving dishes and pots and pans last.  When I put my food on the conveyor belt at the grocery store, I put cold items first, followed by canned goods or things in bottles, followed by boxes, then anything bagged, lastly delicate items like eggs, bread, and chips.  My husband doesn’t help me with these things because neither of us find it worth it to get the system out of order.

Now while one doesn’t have to follow my same system in dishwashing or grocery shopping, there are things we do where to not do them in a certain order just doesn’t make sense.  For example, we get a wedding invitation, we check the calendar, decide that we can and will go, buy the outfit, purchase the gift.  We don’t mark off a date and buy an outfit in hopes that there will be a special event on that date. We don’t strike out on vacation,then pack our bags, right?  But many of us are perfectly content to handle our salvation that way.

Many of us are content to put God last on our to-do lists or stuff Him somewhere in the middle.  I know, because I did this for many years.  God just had to get in where he fit into my life.  But that caused my life to be horribly out of balance.  I’m not that bright, so it took me a while to realize that this was the source of a great deal of chaos and confusion in my life.  But I was smart enough to finally figure it out. I was doing it totally backwards, no wonder I had made such a mess of things. I realized that what Jesus said over 2,000 years ago still holds true today.  If we put God first and truly seek Him, everything else will be provided for us.  God will handle whatever comes our way. You see God made us in His image (Genesis 1:27).  He made us to be in close fellowship with Him.  When we step out there on our own with our focus on the world, is when we get ourselves into trouble.

Our scripture passage today is very plain and simple.  If we put God first in our lives, He will take good care of us.  When I pay my bills, I write my tithe check first, God takes care of my finances.  When I get up in the morning I turn to God first in prayer and bible study.  He takes care of the rest of my day.  In my life, I have learned that by putting God first, he takes care of me.  I have learned that if I abide in His shadow, I can find rest in His shelter (Psalm 91:1).  I have seen Him do the impossible to work things out for my good and His glory (Romans 8:28-30).

I put God first in my life because I want to know that I am safe in Him.  I want to have the assurance that He is handling things for me.  I know that no matter how much order I try to keep in my life, that chaos will creep in there.  But as long as I submit to God and hand over complete control, I have no reason to worry.

Jesus promises us that if we put God first , God will provide all that we need.  He promises that we will have no reason to worry.  We are going to go through hard times.  We are going to go through sad times.  This is a part of life (Ecclesiastes 3:4).  But I have learned that putting God first and focusing on Him makes hard times easier.  It allows me to feel his protection.  It guides me through to safety (Psalm 23).

If you are not putting God first in your life, you are literally putting your cart before the horse.  Have you ever seen a horse push a cart from behind?  Me, neither.  If you want order and balance in your life, put God first.  We were made to do it that way, this is why it works so well.  Don’t take my word for it.  Try it for yourself.

Have a great day!