THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16
“For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Matthew 6:32-33 ESV
CHASING PEACE: YOUR PORTFOLIO
George and John were lifelong friends and had been baseball players together. One day they were talking and John said, “Do you think they play baseball in heaven?” “I don’t know,” said George, “But if I get there before you do, I’ll try to come back and let you know.” Well, the very next week George died suddenly. A few days later John was out walking by himself when he heard a voice call his name. He looked around but no one was there. The voice called his name again. “Is that you, George?” he whispered. “Yes, it’s me,” said the voice. “Well, do they play baseball up there?” The voice answered, “John, I’ve got some good news and some bad news about that. The good news is, they play baseball up here all the time. The bad news is, they’ve got you scheduled to pitch next week.” (Ray Pritchard)
Regardless of how bad our circumstances become, we as Christians have the hope of eternity in Heaven. As we seek God and His kingdom first in our lives, one of the things He promises to “add” to our lives is a home in Heaven. While we can’t be sure what “all these things” are that we need, we can be sure that God will provide for them. People without Jesus must continually seek after material things in an effort to find peace because they don’t have the promise of our Father in heaven to take care of them. If you’re a Christian, you have that promise.
Jesus was saying that worry is practical atheism. When you and I worry, we are behaving just like people who don’t believe in God. Are there areas in your life that make it look like you don’t trust God? Are there areas of your life where you are not seeking God and His kingdom first? Ask God to show you how you can seek Him first in the areas of your life that you believe are demonstrating a lack of faith in Him.
