Seek Him First
Pastor Julie Friday
During this time of fasting we have set aside extra time to seek the Lord and spend time in His presence. In today’s devotional, I want us to look at the word SEEK and what it means.
All throughout the Bible, we are instructed to seek various things. To seek God, to seek His righteousness, to seek His peace, and to seek His face (His presence), and more.
To seek: to go in search or quest of : to seek the truth.
To try to find or discover: searching or questioning: to seek the solution to a problem.
To go to: to seek a place to rest.
To pursue: to run after, to chase, to follow
We find the truth in the Word of God. His Word should be the filter through which we view everything. The Bible is our instruction book and manual for life. The key is that we have to use what has been provided for us. Through His word, prayer, wise counseling, and attending church we can find solutions to life’s problems.
In His presence there is fullness of joy!
Psalm 16:11 says that in the fullness of joy there is no sorrow, worry, doubt, or fear. There’s just an abundance of love, peace and goodness. This is what we can receive when we pursue Jesus. This doesn’t mean that life is without struggles and problems but when we put our trust in God and spend time with Him, He carries us through those times. We can have peace and joy in the midst of a storm!
The Hebrew words for ‘seek’ (in reference to seeking God) mean to go after, chase down, search for, ask, or consult. If you want want to seek God, make Him a priority and never stop running after Him.
anazeteo : to seek carefully and diligently.
baqar : to seek with pleasure or delight. This word can be found in Psalm 27:4, “One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire of His temple.”
The main scripture I wanted us to focus on today is found in Matthew 6:33 KJV, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
According to Rick Renner, seek is the present imperative active form of the Greek word zeteo, and it depicts a constant attitude to actively and constantly seek for a thing. Zeteo is a command! Jesus was literally commanding us to actively and constantly be seeking after the Kingdom of God. God is so good! His word is there for us to know what we need to do to have everything we need in life. Jesus promised that if we seek Him first, everything else we need in life will be supplied to us.
“The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” — Psalms 34:10
Isn’t this good?
The fact is, life is busy but in many cases we make time for what we really want to do. Sometimes we are just being lazy. I challenge you to continue to pursue Him, run after, chase after, and follow God. Put Him first and begin to watch things fall into place.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” — Matthew 6:33 KJV
Seek Him first and everything else will fall into place.
When I think about pursuing I think of a guy pursuing a girl. The guy will do whatever it takes to get the girls attention. I remember 28+ years ago while at Rhema Bible College, Brian and I had just begun dating. He got my attention for many reasons but one thing that always captured my heart was the hand written notes he would leave for me. There were no cell phones back in the day (I’m not that old) but he would write notes when he was on break at work, or just away from me. I was so amazed at the thought that someone was thinking about me. He would leave those notes on my car, on my apartment door, and at my job etc. He was pursuing me and he captured my heart and still has it. I love that I still on occasion find new notes that he has left for me. With that same passion, we should be pursuing Jesus. We should never stop pursuing Him!
Take time today to examine what you put first in your life. Does Netflix come before your time with Jesus? I know life can be demanding as you juggle work, family, laundry, cooking, cleaning, extracurricular activities, church, laundry, and did I say laundry?
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” — Mathew 6:33
The great promise to those who seek the Lord is that He will be found. “If you seek Him, He will be found by you” (1 Chronicles 28:9). And when He is found, there is great reward. “Whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). God himself is our greatest reward. And when we have Him, we have everything. Therefore, “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” (Psalm 105:4)
Now that we are in the second half of our fast don’t lose momentum. Step it up! Make the decision to finish strong and continue to press in to all that God has for you during this special time of prayer and fasting. I believe we were born for such a time as this. How exciting! We have the opportunity to be used by God in mighty ways in these last days. Expect God to use you to reach a lost and dying world. We are His hands and feet. Now, let’s go into the world and preach the good news and lay hands on the sick and set those that are captive free. We have the answer…and it’s Jesus!
Don’t ever stop seeking God!
— Pastor Julie