Instead of chasing after a guy, a career or the latest trends, God’s desire is that we pour our lives into his kingdom agenda.

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you!"—Matthew 6:33.

Although this verse is one of the most often quoted, printed, and monogrammed scriptures… I dare say that actually putting this one into practice is quite different than merely memorizing the words. Let’s break this one down a bit, shall we?

Seek…
strive, pursue, or chase after with intensity

First…
your chief and primary objective

The kingdom…
the realm of rule and authority

of God…
where God, our Creator and Savior Reigns!

God revealed to me that by seeking first his kingdom agenda, then all things that I longed for and desired would ultimately be added to my life. The trick is to get the order right.  Most of us have the order reversed.  The world tells us to seek first marriage, a career, or whatever the next item is on our list. But God says that we are to place him and his agenda as the priority of our lives –trusting him to take care of the rest.

So, what exactly does it mean to “seek first the Kingdom of God?” I was pondering this question recently while at the lake with some friends after church. After a long day of water skiing, we relaxed on the boat watching a beautiful sunset.  Since the group was in a reflective mood, I threw out this question to see what response I would get. The general consensus from this group (all of whom love God, serve God, and are on-fire for His purposes) was that seeking first the kingdom means passionately pursuing our relationship with Jesus Christ and passionately pursuing his agenda instead of our own.

I’m a big fan of that definition. Seeking first means spending our time, our energy, and our resources furthering the priorities and passions of God’s heart —living by his agenda and not our own. Instead of chasing after a guy, a career or the latest trends, God’s desire is that we pour our lives into his kingdom agenda. In what ways are you tempted to "seek first" the world's agenda, instead of God's agenda?