Matthew 6:25-33 CSB
[25] “Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? [26] Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? [27] Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? [28] And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. [29] Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. [30] If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you — you of little faith? [31] So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat? ’ or ‘What will we drink? ’ or ‘What will we wear?’ [32] For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. [33] But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
So many things in our lives keep us distracted from the things of God. Work so we can pay bills, afford food, have clothes to wear, shoes on our feet, gas in our car, a roof over our head, and yes, enjoy life, but all of these things should never come before the LORD. He promised that if we follow Him and seek His kingdom and His righteousness first, all these other things would follow. So often, we suit these things about the things of God and end up never reaching/achieving either.
How we spend our time matters. What our priorities are matter. Who is first in our life matters. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He does NOT change, therefore, if He kept His promises in the past, He’ll keep them now. We just have to break down the strongholds of the flesh that keep our spirit man, our connection to God, weak.
Dear LORD, please help me to start the New Year strong. Help me to start it right by focusing on and seeking You. Teach me to crucify my flesh and build my spirit man every single day. Help me to grow in You. Give me the burning desire to grow closer to you, as Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, Peter, and Paul had. Please, LORD, don’t turn a blind ear to my prayers, but hear me when I call. Hear me when I cry out to You. Come to my defense as you defended Jacob, Moses, and David. Pray for me, LORD Jesus, as You prayed for Peter, the other eleven disciples, Paul, and the rest of the early Church. Please help me to see and praise You for every step towards You that I make. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.