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Friday, January 16, 2015

ICF devotional

Bad Homburg

But seek ye first the kingdom of God
and his righteousness,
and all these things shall be 
added unto you.
Matthew 6:33

Do you have a favorite verse?  Maybe it’s a verse you discovered when you were going through a difficult time and it brought you encouragement.  Or maybe a pastor spoke on a verse and you found it challenged you to strive for God every day.  It could be that a friend gave you a verse and it was just what you needed to cling to each day.

When I was in second grade I went to summer camp for the first time.  I slept in a tipi at night, swam during the day and sang around a campfire at night.  Each day we learned a different verse and our teen counselor gave us little lessons about the verse while we were walking from one activity to the next.  Matthew 6:33 was one of the verses that week and from the moment I heard it, I knew it was mine.   

In my young mind I saw that there was something God wanted me to do and something He promised in return.  It became very simple to me.  Seek God.  I didn’t worry about the fine points of the kingdom of God or what it exactly meant to be righteous.  I simply desired to seek God.  

Those two words changed the way I thought about little things all day long.  “What does God want me to do?”  “Would God be happy with this song?”   “Does this person know God?  Maybe I should tell them.”  As life has gone on and I’ve come up against obstacles those two words have cleared so many questions for me.  Seek God.  

Then there is the promise that sounded lovely and comforting to my young heart.  All these things shall be added unto you.  This promise is so beautifully cradled by verses that remind us how God takes care of the birds of the air and lilies of the field, and a command not to worry about our lives.  Without knowing great depths of theology, I seemed to understand that this verse wasn’t a path to riches.  

God is assuring me that He will take care of me.  I don’t need to worry about little or big things.  All He asks is that I keep my eyes on Him.  


Do you have a favorite verse?  Sometimes it’s good to remember the journey your life has taken and see how God used one promise from Him to carry you through the difficult days.  Take time to reflect on your favorite verse today.  If you don’t have a favorite verse, start looking for one that will guide your life.  One that will always be at the front of your mind almost without thought.

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