Whose on FIRST?

It looks like we are in for some great weather this week… at least until Thursday that is.  When I look out the window right now, I see nothing but sunny, bright blue, cloudless skies as far as my eyes can see across the golf course to the bank of trees that line its far border to the north of the neighborhood.  The temps are slated to hover around the low 70’s for most of the week, but the blue skies will make a quick exit as a spring-type weather system of thunderstorms makes an appearance beginning on Thursday.  The only somewhat negative thing that we’ll have to put up with until the rains come, is some strong winds blowing in from the south.

My dog Fiver is an interesting character.  With his partial Australian Shepherd heritage, he can be a bit anxious when conditions around him change… be it a squirrel running by, an approaching dog, loud noises or the blowing wind.  In quiet conditions he will comfortably walk by my side and casually sniff at the various scents that he picks up in the air, in the grass and especially around fence posts or the base of tree.  (Gee… I wonder why?)

When the winds pick up, as with today’s walk, he steps with a noticeable amount of hesitation and/or anxiety.  The swirling air and the noise that it produces seems to totally discombobulate his sense of smell.  When we climbed up the berm to the pond and received the brunt of the strong wind, I thought of the Pastor’s sermon yesterday, when she was reading from Acts 2:2 where Luke described the tangible coming of the Holy Spirit saying, "suddenly they heard the sound of a violent blast of wind rushing into the house from out of the heavenly realm. The roar of the wind was so overpowering it was all anyone could bear!” (The Passion Translation) 

At that slightly higher elevation, my ears were definitely inundated with a sound which I could easily liken to a roaring wind!  That experience gave me an understanding of what Fiver with his sensitive ears was hearing.  When the wind blows like that, he tends to pull on his leash throughout the walk, and jerk me in different directions while he attempts to follow a scent.  His antics on this morning’s walk got me to thinking of my earlier Bible Study that I enjoyed at my desk, in my study along with a hot cup of coffee!

When I had stepped out of bed first thing today, my thoughts immediately went to a familiar Bible verse found in the book of Matthew, chapter six, verse 33.  So, without much thought, that is precisely where I turned to when I sat in my study. In this portion of the scriptures Jesus is giving His followers some all-important hints on how to refrain from anxiety in their daily lives.  He sums it up in this particular verse by stating, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (KJV) 

As I watched Fiver on our walk, I became aware of how the wind caused him to be unable to follow any one scent to its source, where he could thoroughly investigate it to his satisfaction.  You could almost see the confusion on his face as he kept changing directions.  And that is when I had my “Ah-HA!” moment.  Fiver’s difficulties were exactly what Jesus was warning His followers about!

In effect, He was telling them to not allow themselves to be distracted by the different “winds” of thoughts, worries and/or regular activities or needs (ie; things) that are all a part of our daily existence.  The whole point of His very simple teaching was that when you put Him first, then “all these things shall be added unto you.”

Simple right?  Well… maybe not as easy as it may sound, especially when you consider that just about everything else in this world says the total opposite to us!  Out in the world we are constantly bombarded with ads describing how this car, this house, this vacation, this educational degree, this amount in savings, these clothes and even how these shoes will give you the satisfaction in life that you deserve!  In society today, it is all about the “THINGS!”

Now don’t get me wrong.  I firmly believe that God wants us to have nice THINGS… But what He doesn’t want is for those THINGS to have us!  I’ve come to understand in my Christian walk through the years, that when I seek Him first each and every day, that the rest of my day goes much better!  The daily plans, desires and goals that I set, more often than not, get met and I have more peace and joy in doing it all and then at night, find that I can relax feeling satisfied and fulfilled.

Once again though, I would say that this didn’t happen overnight.  It is a practice that I have and continue to hone throughout my adult life.  I can’t really remember when I started the practice of taking time early in the morning, many times before the rest of the family got up, to go off by myself and study in the Word of God.  I recall doing it in the mid to late 1980’s when we bought our first home in the Larkfield area of northern Santa Rosa.  It was the first place that we lived in where I had a room that I could call my office or study, although I do remember studying in the backyard or patio of other residences that Piper and I had lived in before we had kids.

I believe that Piper had already developed the practice of personal Bible Study before we met and I still have a picture that I had snapped of her studying the Word in our first little apartment just down the street from her parent’s home.

As I sat at my desk thinking about Matthew 6:33, I couldn’t help but smile and laugh when I began to recall all the times that the Lord was faithful to that scripture in our lives.  I laugh because of the simplicity of following the truths in God’s Word and of the statement that Piper and I and our kids have made through the years regarding His faithfulness to our obedience saying with awe, “You know… this stuff really works!”  I think that it is all about having that confident, “child-like faith” that my sweet wife always exemplified!

What about you today?  Are you ready to uncomplicate your life by exchanging your anxiety over “THINGS” with the daily practice of “seeking first the kingdom of God” and then be able to say with awe “This stuff really works!” as He works out the twists and turns of your life and you see “all these THINGS added unto you?”

All I can say, is what I have come to know… and that is: “That this stuff really works!”

Have a great week, and as you do, keeping expecting God’s best for you!