God is True

You know all of these promises we have from God that we try to twist so that it fits in with how we're already living our lives and there's no risk involved for us?

Not sure what I'm talking about? Let me give you an example, from my own life.

Matthew 6:33

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you."

My initial reaction is, well, what does "seek" mean? Seek comes from a Greek word meaning to search for, as in searching for a treasure or something hidden. (See, I have been learning stuff in Greek class!) What do we do when we've lost something? We search high and low, leaving no possibility out. Even if you're completely certain you didn't leave it somewhere, you look anyway. There's a feeling of desperation, of earnestness. Relating this to seeking the kingdom of God means that we should desperately search for God and his righteousness. Looking everywhere we can think of. Reading scripture, being involved in the church, helping those in need, whatever comes to mind, even if it seems outlandish - out of desperation we try it because we are earnestly seeking God. And we don't do them because we want to look good or appear righteous, but because we are on a hunt for the one true satisfaction, God himself. And the Bible says that if we seek, we will find Him. 

Okay, so I'm reading this and I think it's awesome! How cool, if I desperately seek God first, above all else, I will not only find him, but also He will provide for me in every way ("and all these things will be added to you"). 

Ah, yes, but if I start SEEKING the kingdom of God, that means I'll have to take my eyes off of that boy I'm daydreaming about. That means I'll have to stop spending time thinking of ways to make him fall in love with me. It means I'll have to stop being so obsessed with having the cutest clothes and best makeup. It means I'll have to stop being controlled by my social status and academic achievements. 

But I like those things. I like the idea of being in love. I like looking nice. I like being liked and moving up in the academic world. 

But God promises that if I take my eyes off of those things and seek him and his righteousness, that He will fill my every need. 

So what I do is I say, okay God, I trust you! And I start reading my Bible a little more, start doing more "Christian" things....but still holding on to those other goals. I try to do both at the same time. 

So I don't really believe God's promise. I don't truly believe that if I seek God with abandon that He will provide for me. I think that I'll look everything and be empty.

But I'm trying it now. I'm trying to seek him in the right way. Not holding onto my wish that this guy I'm in love with will return the feelings and chase after me. Not holding onto my goal of maintaining a 4.0 all throughout college. I have only been doing this for maybe like, 2 days. But I'm starting to see a glimpse of how true it is. 

When I saturate myself with God, I am satisfied. When I start looking at these worldly goals, I become anxious. GOD'S WORD IS TRUE. 

I write this so that I'll remember the next time I start to doubt. 

So, when we start to doubt, what do we do? What do we do when the promise doesn't feel true? Let us TRUST in God's word (for it has never failed), and simply do what it says out of faith, and then we will SEE that it is true. God is faithful. His promises are true. And oh, how He loves us.