"Almost"

The thing that almost happened,

We just may never know,

‘Cause life has it’s near misses,

And they don’t always show.

The ‘could have’s and the ‘what if’s,’

Still pose a threat, you see,

Anything can happen,

But may not come to be.

We can live our lives in worry,

Of the bad stuff on the way,

Or thank the Lord and trust Him,

When we wake up each day.

The Lord said each day’s trouble,

Would always be enough,

And fearing our tomorrows,

Would make life really tough.

And seeking first His Kingdom,

Helps me know He’s in control,

Of all the things that could have been,

So that’s just how we roll.

All the possibilities,

We place right in His hands,

Righteousness and peace and joy,

Each day we know we can.

“But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well…” (Mt. 6:33, NIV)

Jesus’ answer for worry and fear was redirection. Rather than allow the uncertainty of life to consume our thoughts with dread over what might or might not happen, Jesus counsels us to seek first the Kingdom of God. What does this mean? It means many things, but the basic idea is that we would surrender everything to God’s rule and recognize His control over all that concerns us. If we are in control, worry is inevitable. If He is in control, fear is replaced by faith. We can trust His provision, and the promise is that all we need will be added to us. Living this way also involves seeking God’s righteousness, which simply means we want to live in cooperation with what He says is right. On what hand we receive righteousness through Jesus Christ. We are credited with righteousness that we cannot earn. But we are also called to seek righteousness, which means we endeavor to have a right relationship with the Lord and others. His grace empowers us but we do have a choice in the matter. Seeking His Kingdom and His righteousness should be our highest priority.

Lord, help us make Your Kingdom our highest priority, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Don Waters, donwaters.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Don, and God bless you.