Cosmic Executive Officer
“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
Matthew 6:33 (NLT)
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! With the busyness of the season, it can be easy to try and get things done as quickly and efficiently as possible. This usually means getting things done ‘our way.’ When it comes to shopping, cooking, or setting plans, we want complete control of how everything will turn out. Complete control doesn’t mean we are doing everything ourselves; it just means that everything is getting done the way we want it to. As you get ready to celebrate with food, family, and friends, it is a wonderful time to count your blessings, rejoice, and remind our hearts of who is in charge.
When we remember who is in charge, it becomes easier to enjoy the season and every other aspect of our lives. Putting God first will align our hearts in such a way that we become more like Jesus. One of the fears we may have in putting God above our own desires is that our needs and wants won’t be met, or at least they won’t be met in the way we want them too. But Jesus corrects this line of thought. In Matthew 6, it says that when you put God first and foremost in your life, then EVERYTHING else falls into place. That ‘everything else’ he is referring to is clothes, food, and shelter. Those are important things in our day-to-day lives.
At this point, you might be wondering about everything else that doesn’t fall into those needs. We sometimes know putting God first will lead to Him taking care of our basic needs, but what about our wants? The desire for a new phone, a vacation, or a new toy of some sort is not inherently wrong. These are fun and good things, and I believe God enjoys giving us good gifts like these. However, that is not the focus of His heart. Jesus shares another important truth in Matthew 13:44-46, about a wise man who found a great treasure in a field. In the man’s joy of finding the treasure, he went and sold ALL his possessions to buy the field, knowing the treasure was far more valuable than his original possessions.
This parable represents us finding Jesus. His worth is infinitely more valuable than the newest car, the next ski trip, or the latest gadget. Our heart’s should be postured in such a way that it's okay if these things fall through, don’t happen, or don’t go according to plan. Our hope and joy is directly connected to Jesus and nothing else. When we put God as priority one and focus on keeping Him there, everything else in our lives will fall into place. Everything else. That’s a lot. But we need to make sure, Jesus is Lord of our life. We need to make sure Jesus is CEO of our hearts in order to get the very best of this season and this life.
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.