Matthew 6:33
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously,
and He will give you everything you need.

What are you striving after these days? What plans, goals, and aspirations are you pursuing?

As a task oriented individual with “achiever” as my number one strength (for those of you who are familiar with StrengthsFinder) I am all about being driven and knocking to-dos off my daily list.

As of late though I have come to understand that if I truly want my life to count in light of eternity I need to focus less on doing and more on simply being with God.

In Luke 10:38-42 we read the following: “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’”

Now I don’t know about you, but in this story I fully identify with Martha. Tasks, to-dos, getting things done, she is my kind of gal. What is interesting though is that instead of patting her on the back for all of her efforts, the Lord gently explains that Mary, the one who decided to simply spend time and listen to Him, had chosen what was better.

I would venture to say that the same is true for each of us today. As great as it is to have plans, goals, and aspirations and to purposefully pursue them, we absolutely must make sure that above all else we are pursuing God.

Consider this, if we are not spending time daily in prayer and in God’s word, then how will we even know if we are pursuing the right plans and goals? If our purpose as believers in Christ is to live His plan for our life, then it only makes sense that we spend time with Him daily so that we correctly understand what He wants of us for that day.

Prayer was never meant to be an after-thought, but rather it should be the driving force behind all that we do.

James 5:16b says, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

Prayer is powerful. May we never forget that we can accomplish far more through prayer and allowing God to work in our lives and circumstances than we could ever hope to accomplish with even our very best efforts.

Likewise, the Bible should be our daily go-to guide for understanding God’s plan for our lives.

Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desire.”

As we seek to glorify God in our lives may we each remember the power of prayer and God’s Word. Let it be our hearts desire to “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously…” May we understand that we will live our full purpose and make our greatest impact for all eternity when spend time with God daily and then live out the assignments, big and small, that He gives us each and every day.