Put God First

Happy New Year guys!!! We finally made it into 2019!! My goodness I cannot begin to tell you how excited I’m to have crossed over and be in 2019. And as I was pondering on 2019 the title of this blog kept pressing on my heart. Which is "Put God First This Year"!!

I don’t know about you but for me 2017 and 2018 have been good but yet quite difficult and challenging years! The end of 2016 was a horrible time for my family and I. lost my big brother in September 2016 and lost my uncle in December 2016 and both death were sudden. Not really the way I thought that year would end. I was in full blown depression and going through very challenging times in other areas of my life! And these really made me numb to the pain I was feeling. The more time went by the more challenges would come up and I just thought you know what God!!! Let’s end it here because it’s too much! I don’t think my heart can take it! But in it all God was there holding me up even when I thought I was falling his loving hand was right there to hold me and I must say like Marvin Sapp’s song says “ Never would’ve made…. Never could’ve made it without you…. I’m stronger, I’m wiser, I’m better, much better…..” That really became my story and I really got to truly understand the meaning of this song because of what I faced and went through! Fast-forward here we are in 2019!!!  And although the past couple of years have been tough I really believe that these years and whatever we’ve gone through in the previous years were to prepare and build us up for this year!

Now you’re over the turkey and the overload of food you’ve allowed yourself to eat over the Christmas period! Now we are in the New Year you are looking at the pounds you’ve put on and determined that this month would be your detox month. This month will be the month where you are cutting down on sweets, chocolates and other types of food that are seen to be high in calories! Anyone in this mindset?? To be honest it would apply more to women than men but all the same! Everyone comes into a New Year with what they so call “New Year’s resolution” where we vow to ourselves that we will do better. We will eat healthier, we will work out more, we will spend more time with our family and friends, and we will pray more! We will read our bibles more and the list goes on!

We tell ourselves that where we went wrong last year will be made right this year! We are focused and ready to tackle this New Year with our new resolutions, fresh zeal and fresh drive! We tell ourselves to keep thinking positive and have a positive attitude and everything will work out according to the state of our mind! Now all these things are not wrong at all! In fact it is very good to start the year like this with the right attitude and the right mindset however I want to turn your attention to the following scripture that has been and continues to be such a blessing to me and every time I read it; it opens my eye and increases my understanding of that scripture even more. It’s a familiair picture that it used a lot and it 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”. Very powerful scripture! Now the NLT version puts it even better it says “Seek the kingdom of God ABOVE ALL ELSE, and live righteously, and he will give you EVERYTHING you NEED”. The NIV version is also another good one!! I’m bombarding you with different versions but they all give a different angle to the revelation of this scripture, the NIV says “BUT seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you AS WELL”. When a sentence starts with a BUT it introduces a statement that adds something to a previous statement and usually contrasts with it in some ways . The word BUT is also used to connect two statements or phrases when the second one adds something different or seems surprising after the first one (I LIKE THAT ONE!).

In this case in Matthew 6:1-32 it deals with the outward and inward expressions of piety , referring to giving, fasting and prayer (Matthew 6:1-18). Matthew 6:19-34 now deals with possessions and the issues of what to prioritise and where to put our trust. However Matthew 6:19-34 can be split in 2 parts; Matthew 2:19-24 that talks about where our treasures should be and the fact that we should not serve two masters but only serve one as by doing so we will by default hate one and love the other. We then get to the latter part of this chapter Matthew 6:25-33. In this part Jesus starts by saying to us do not take any thoughts for your life, what you will eat or drink or wear. And He turns our attention to the fowls or the air the fact that they neither sow nor reap but still God our father feeds them so how much more us his children?? The ones that were made in his own image after his own likeness. The ones in whom He breathed of himself into. God’s representatives on this earth?? How much more us??? Jesus adds that if he can clothe the grass of the field how much more??(Matt 6:25-32). This really hit me because it makes me think of all the times we forget this fact and worry about things in our lives. Whether it be our bills, our job, how are we going to make it to our next pay check but Jesus challenges us to put our trust in Him. And here Jesus is reassuring us that if he can watch over the fowls of the air and clothe the grass of the field He is more than able to watch over us and clothe us.

 Now remember the definition of the word BUT a few paragraphs earlier?? Well that’s where it comes in. All this things mentioned are good and its ok to think on these things BUT SEEK YE FIRST! Which means shift your attention, your focus on God and all these things will be given to you as you seek GOD FIRST. Have you ever noticed that if you need a breakthrough from God you are ready to fast for 21 days even go on a dry fast for God to move mountains but yet when it comes to seeking Him we just spend our 5 mins in the morning reading the word of the day; say a quick prayer and call it a day? Don’t worry I’ve been there! And this really grieves the heart of God as we seek for the blessings instead of the Blesser!  Not realising that as we seek the Blesser the blessings will be added! So let’s do things differently this year! And let’s seek GOD! Let’s be in a place where we yearn to know him. Where we have an unlimited appetite for his word and spending time with him. Where we seek to grow in the things of God and you will see that what you desire will be granted to you effortlessly! As I write this I’m being brought back to the story of Solomon ( 1 King 3) where God asked him what is that you want? And instead of being desire-centred he was literally kingdom-centred and asked God for the wisdom he needed to be able to rule God’s people and kingdom and that touched the heart of God so much that riches were granted to him. Solomon did not work for wealth , he attracted wealth by the wisdom God gave him and on top of that wisdom God added wealth and up to date Solomon remains one of the if not the riches and wisest king that ever walked this earth.

So let’s make it our main resolution this year!  To seek Gods kingdom and to put God first and I can guarantee you, you will never be disappointed! God will blow your mind so much so that you will even wonder what was that I was worried about? And new facets, aspects and revelations of God and His Kindgom you will experience and see will take you to a higher dimension and cause you to fall in love with God more, walk in his will and have you worry free!

My prayer for you is that as you put God first He will reveal himself to you like never before and cause you to experience him and have a deeper understanding of who he is and get closer to Him. And as you do that may everything you have prayed for according to His will be made manifest in your life! You are blessed and walking in favour! And I pray that this blog was a blessing to you!

Read, Like, love and share but above all be blessed!