"...Chase after the realm of God's kingdom..." Matthew 6:33-34

Pursuing The Kingdom of God as a first priority can be an adventure and at the same time be a struggle, especially to someone that is learning to let go of all of the trappings this world offers.  Jesus said here in this passage that all of the little things like housing, food, clothing, companionship, etc. will be provided for, but if you don’t have these then these little things become big things.

Putting your faith in Christ when there is no visible means of support can be disconcerting at best, it goes against everything we have been taught by our parents about self-sufficiency.  You know what I mean…having a job, provide health insurance, pay for a home, purchasing our food, and the list goes on.  All of these things are important for our health and well being as we live in this world, but they do not address the matter of putting our trust and faith in Jesus Christ, what does that look like in our modern world in the 21^st century?

Faith in Christ is two-fold obedience, we are to ask in faith believing for our needs what we do not have, and give thanks for the outcome.  Secondly, we are to engage in work, moving in the direction that Jesus wants us to go.  I have seen miraculous things happen when this principle is put into practice time and time again.

I have seen families who were jobless and hungry gather around a table when there was no food to eat hold hands and pray for God’s Kingdom provision, they would give thanks for God’s answer, and out of the blue food in abundance would show up at their front door by someone who was inspired by the Lord bringing groceries to meet that need.

I have also seen families on limited income pray for God’s Kingdom to come and increase their income when there wasn't enough to meet their needs and somehow God would miraculously expand their income to meet all of their obligations for the month with monies leftover.

For myself, when I was out of work I would search for employment every day and ask for God’s Kingdom to come and bring provision, and the right job would eventually come.  My family and I always had food on the table and enough resource to pay our bills. 

Seeking the Kingdom first is an act of faith, trusting in what we cannot see and knowing that God is always faithful to provide for us and meet our needs. Seeking God’s Kingdom isn’t a religious thing, it is a practical thing.  When we go about our lives from a Kingdom perspective rather than a self-preservation perspective it changes the outcome because faith changes us. 

We look away from the natural realm and we fasten our gaze onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be His, He endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!   
Hebrews 12:2 (TPT)

I have seen this principle in action again and again in my life as well as in the lives of others, and without fail God would meet the need, God is faithful to His word, and that is what faith is all about. Jesus put His faith in us from the beginning, we are only appropriating it in the way that He intended.

I pray with great faith for you, because I’m fully convinced that the One who began this glorious work in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you and will put his finishing touches to it until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ!  Philippians 1:6 (TPT)

The reality of faith is that it isn’t what we can get out of God, but rather what He is going to get out of us. We can trust Him in spite of our uncomfortableness with not knowing what our future holds, and rest in the fact that He had our future planned out long before we were ever born.  We can have this confidence that He has never failed us and He never will. He wants us to be filled with and demonstrate His glory in all that we do.

I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for. Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will answer you.   Jeremiah 29:11-12 (GNT)

I pray that you may know the riches of the Kingdom by appropriating the faith inside you that you may know the height, width, length, and breadth of all that God has for you in Jesus Christ.

Be Blessed;

Stephen Barnett