Live It UP! Countdown Blog #4: "After all these things the Gentiles Seek"

Matthew 6:
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Those Gentiles.... outsiders... the non-chosen! Always seeking after stuff!Stuff to eat... Stuff to drink... stuff to wear. Wait a minute! That is like 98% of everyone I know! Maybe even 99%! Matter of fact, almost everyone I know (including myself) are what is considered Gentiles! I know like three people of Jewish background and the rest are very much Gentile-ish! Huh? Oh yeah, that's right... God opened the doors for Gentiles through Jesus, whew!

Ok, now  that that pressure is off, let's look at what the Lord was saying to those around Him and later to us in these verses. He says the Gentiles seek after the things they will eat, drink and wear... but why were the Jews different? Why should God's people take a different perspective? Because God's people had forgotten about Jehovah-jireh: God the Provider. The One who when they were in the wilderness provided manna from heaven, water from a stone, healing from serpent bites, protection from enemies and made it so the shoes never wore off of their feet. The One who provided with them a choice property, and the inhabitants of that land. The One who was about to provide them with a Lamb, who would take away their sins. The Gentiles neither recognized God or His provision and didn't respect that name of God. But the Jews did. 

Jesus, is stirring an ancient remembrance here of a God that knows how to take care of His people and provide for them. Jesus, as a part of His ministry, reveals God as "the Father" and reminds the people how important they are as His children. His words immediately demand faith, because as soon as the next person there got hungry, it would be God's turn to move. Verse 33 shows the conditions and terms: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.". The very fact Jesus is talking about a need every last one of us will have consistently, shows that He is not talking about a long process of faith displayed over the course of many days. He is talking about right now. 

It's natural to think about what will dinner be, or what we will wear today. I think about what key I need to open the door to my house. But I don't worry about it! Gentile behavior is a very natural behavior. Gentiles would lack the knowledge of God and the faith in God (naturally) and follow the desires of the flesh, or the planetary alignments, or the statistical readout of the situation, etc. It was foolish thinking to the Gentiles to depend on one God (who especially at that time, had not sent prophets or shown wonders and miraculous signs). To worry (and think out the solution) was a very Gentile thing to do. Jesus counters this Gentile way of thinking in God's people by reminding them of the glory of Solomon, by showing those that believed in God, how the Father took care of the smallest, most helpless of things. He says do not worry about your life... God feeds... God clothes... Are you not of more value than a bird or lilies or grass? Jesus is in more current terms... "laying it down"!

So let's switch gears... Jesus is speaking through the ages to you and I right now. How do you feel about what He is saying? He sees you grinding, counting up the money wondering how many more meals can I afford, how will I be clothed in the coming months when seasons change, etc. And He begins saying to you: "do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.". How do you handle when He tells you your faith is small? Look at the bird, look at the lily, look at the grass, He says. Do you think He is mistaken, do you question if He is the Christ, do you think your situation is special and outside of the reach of His words. Do you accept the challenge of increasing your faith, seeking the kingdom and it's righteousness and then look for God to add "all these things to you", by the next time you need them?? Can you accept if it's manna from heaven and after a while your taste buds may tire of the taste? Can you still appreciate the sustenance while waiting on the promise? Can you then not worry about tomorrow? I should hope so, because that is what Jesus is getting at here.

You may worry too much. Any worry is too much when you are a child of God. I am still guilty of this sometimes. But God never wants us there... faith (which pleases Him) can never chill in the same space as fear, doubt and worry. These things can make us miss blessings, affect our bodies and drive us out of our minds. But I am reminded of One who took a demon possessed man and later had that man, sitting, clothed and in his right mind.

Do this with me fam, and we can have each other's back with this.We who have been guilty of worrying, doubting the Lord or being driven by fear, let us repent, and seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Let our lives and the care thereof fall in line behind that objective. Let's believe Jesus and prove the devil a liar, and walk as the people of God. Pray for me, I will pray for you and if you comment or shoot me a message, I will pray for you specifically. 

Let's Live It UP! Only 3 more days! :-)