Matthew 6:33 - Jesus Is The Answer To Worry.
Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) But seek first the
kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these
things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6:33 (NLT) Seek the Kingdom of God
above all else, and live righteously, and he will
give you everything you need.
INTRODUCTION
Worry has more questions than answers,
more work than energy, and thinks often about
giving up. Theres not enough time, luck, credit,
wisdom, or intelligence. Were running out of
everything it seems, and so we worry. But worry
doesnt work. You can dedicate a decade of anxious
thoughts to the brevity of life, and not extend it by
one minute. Worry accomplishes nothing.
God doesnt condemn legitimate concern
for responsibilities but rather the continuous
mind-set that dismisses Gods presence. Destructive
anxiety subtracts God from the future and tallies up
the challenges of the day without entering God
into the equation. Jesus gives us this challenge:
Your heavenly Father already knows all your
needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else and
live righteously; and he will give you everything
you need (Matthew 6:32-33). [Max Lucado Daily
Devotional at maxlucado.com]
COMMENTARY PEARLS
The Key to a Balanced Life: Jesus
If you want to live a truly balanced
life, you can only look at one person in all of
history as your model: Jesus. If you put him at the
center of your life, your life will be more
balanced.
Think of your life like a wheel. The
center of the wheel is a hub. All of the spokes of
your life (which represent your relationships,
your family, your career, your goals, and so on)
come from that hub. We all build our lives around
some sort of hub. The question is, what will be
your hub? Will it be your family? Will it be your
career? Will it be money?
Or will it be Jesus?
How do you know what youre building
your life around? Take a look at whatever you
think about the most. Thats what is driving
you.
The center of your life is critical to
developing a balanced life. A solid center leads to a
solid life. A weak, flimsy center leads to a weak
life. When I hear people tell me their lives are
coming unglued, it usually means one thing: They
have a faulty center. Something other than God
has taken priority in their lives.
Not only does the hub create stability,
but it also controls and influences everything
else about your life. Whatever you put at the
center of your life will also be your source of
power. The power of a wheel always emanates from
the center outward - never the other way
around.
Make Jesus the hub of your life, and
hell provide the stability, control, and power
you need. The Bible says, Seek first Gods
kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other
needs will be met as well (Matthew 6:33 NCV).
When you choose to put Jesus at the
center, all the other areas of your life - from your
family to your career to your goals - will find
balance in him. He will direct your life, influence
it, empower it, and give it stability. [Daily
Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
From Worry to Worship
Awhile back I was driving somewhere with
my wife when we realized that I lost both my
cell phone and wallet. We decided to try the
phone using its find my phone feature. And
sure enough, it showed up at a certain spot.
There was my phone, with my wallet next to it. So
we scooped them up and gave thanks to God.
We sought those items out. We were going
to find them, no matter what. That is the idea
of putting Gods kingdom first. Jesus said,
But seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow
will worry about its own things. Sufficient for
the day is its own trouble (Matthew 6:33"34
NKJV).
If you dont want to live in anxiety,
fear, and worry, then put matters in Gods
hands. Dont give up on this. Seek it above all
things.
How do you do that? Make your faith
stronger. Grow in faith by studying and believing the
Word of God. Your faith grows by hearing Gods
Word and acting on it. Romans 10:17 says, So
then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God (NKJV).
When we listen to Gods Word, it puts
everything in perspective. We see God for who He is.
And we see life with all of its challenges for
what it is. We see everything as we ought to see
it.
Instead of worrying, put God and His Word
first in your life. Seek Him principally above
everything else. Give Him priority.
All too often we turn to people for help
and forget that we need to turn to the Lord. So
place it in Gods hands, and trade your worry
for worship. [Greg Laurie from Harvest
Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com]
COMMENTARY
In Australia they use an expression that
I love: No worries, mate!
I think that phrase nicely sums up the
point Jesus was making in Matthew 6 when He said,
That is why I tell you not to worry about
everyday life - whether you have enough food and
drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isnt life more
than food, and your body more than clothing?
(verse 25 NLT).
When we worry, essentially, were not
trusting God. Worry is a lack of trust in Him. In
fact, the word worry originates from a term that
means to strangle. And thats exactly what
worry does to us. It strangles us. It chokes us.
Worry is interest that we pay on troubles before
theyre due.
It comes down to this: We need to trust
in the providence of God. The providence of
God, or the sovereignty of God, simply means that
God is in control of our lives as followers of
Jesus.
You may not understand why youre
dealing with a hardship right now. But God has
allowed it for some reason. Nothing touches us that
has not first passed through Gods loving
hands. Hes in control.
So instead of worrying, lets put God
first in our lives. Jesus said, Seek the
Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously,
and he will give you everything you need
(Matthew 6:33 NLT).
The word seek speaks of persistence.
Lets say that you dropped a $100 bill on the
ground, and a little breeze picked it up. Would you
go looking for it? Of course you would. And
what is the kingdom of God? Its the rule and
reign of Jesus Christ in our lives.
Above everything else, we want to give
God the number one position in our lives. And
when we put God and his kingdom first, life will
find its proper balance. [Greg Laurie from
Harvest Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com]
There are many things you can seek to
live for in life. You can live for a lot of
things. You can live for your physical appearance.
You can live for a successful career. You can
live for pleasure. But here is what Jesus said:
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live
righteously, and he will give you everything you need
(Matthew 6:33 NLT).
With those words, Jesus gave us the
secret to living a worry-free life: Instead of
worry, put God and His will first in your life.
Among a number of options, put God in the number
one position.
Lets take your career for example. Is
your career choice, your line of work, really for
Gods glory? Are you seeking Him first in what
youre doing?
You might say, Greg, youre a
pastor. Its easy for you to seek God first. I
work in the real world with real people.
I understand. But here is what your goal
should be: to honor God in everything you do. Here
is what you need to ask yourself: As Im
doing this thing, what is my goal? If your goal
is just to make money no matter what it takes,
you have the wrong goal. Your goal should be to
honor God, give honest work, and have personal
integrity and a good testimony in the workplace.
When the day is done, you want to have a
good name and a good reputation. Proverbs 22:1
says, Choose a good reputation over great
riches; being held in high esteem is better than
silver or gold (NLT).
Seek first the kingdom of God. If you
want a life free of worry, anxiety, and fear,
then put Gods kingdom before everything else.
Seek Him first, and He will take care of you.
[Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com]
CLOSING THOUGHT
Dont Worry - Worship!
How do you know youre not experiencing
the love of God?
Youre worried.
You cant simultaneously worry and
worship God. Every time you worry, youve
forgotten how much God loves you. Worry is really
acting like an atheist. Its pretending youre
an orphan rather than a child of God.
Jesus said, So dont worry about
these things, saying, What will we eat? What
will we drink? What will we wear? These things
dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your
heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek
the Kingdom of God above all else, and live
righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So
dont worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will
bring its own worries. Todays trouble is enough
for today (Matthew 6:31-34 NLT).
Jesus tells us theres a truth thats
much more important than anything were
worrying about: We have a heavenly Father who created
us, loves us, wants what is best for us, and is
watching over us. He is working for our good and has
given us hundreds of promises of his
faithfulness.
Worry is pretending you dont know any
of that.
My son Josh doesnt like to fly when
theres turbulence. A few years ago, he was on a
plane experiencing constant turbulence. He told me
later, I had to decide whether I would worry or
worship. So instead of worrying, I put in my ear buds
and put on a bunch of worship songs.
Youll either worry or worship for the
rest of your life. Youll either panic or pray.
Youll either look at your problems or look at
God.
Which will you choose? [Daily Devotional
by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
ONE LINERS
The only thing in all of creation that
worries is a human being. Plants dont worry.
Animals dont worry. Only human beings act as if
we dont have a heavenly Father. [Daily
Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
When we focus first on our worries, that's
all we have room for. But when we focus first on
God and His Kingdom, seeking it above all else
as Jesus instructs, well find that our worries
begin to fade. [Earth Psalms by Francine Rivers]
If I allow my concern about the future to
cripple me in the present, I am guilty of worry. by
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones [Greg Laurie from Harvest
Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com]
Someone really wise once said, "Worrying is
like praying for what you don't want to happen.'
I don't know that my worried thoughts can
actually influence reality, but they can definitely
make me miserable. I've consumed lots of time by
fretting about things that never came to pass,
sometimes spending hours working on solving a problem
that never occurred. Meanwhile, whatever was
right in front of me, whether a trouble, task, or
triumph, went unattended. Silly and sad. [Mornings
With Jesus 2018 Devotional by Guideposts and
Zondervan]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
Matthew 6:33 - SEEKING GOD FIRST.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2019/20191202-1036.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David
DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides:
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio:
https://bible.awr.org/the-signs/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
The Last Day of Prophecy by Pastor Doug
Batchelor:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmGvdtMCf1aJTiC59-lPtuUMEq_uEn0BK
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
