Seek first

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!  His faithful love endures forever. For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. 

(Psalm 107:1, 9 NLT)

There are lots and lots of things in this world with which we can "satisfy" our souls, but only one thing which will satisfy our true need in life. We think things might just work to "scratch some itch" we might be feeling that "deserves" to be satisfied, so we go off to the local department store and search for just the "right thing" to satisfy that itch. Then we find that our "itch" wasn't as well satisfied by that purchase as we'd hoped it would have been, only to find ourselves "soul impoverished" again, searching for the next "thing" that might fill that empty space. The problem with all our searching is that it ends in what will meet some "soulish" need and we totally miss that the real need is much deeper in our spirit.

Good things....this is what God desires to put into the empty spaces of our lives, but when we clutter these spaces up with "things" we believe will tickle our fancy, we don't seem to have as much "space" for the things God really desires for us. Grace has a way of focusing us on not what pleases our soul, but what fills our spirit and in turn renews our heart and mind. This is the difference between a "soulish pleasure" and a "spiritual" treasure from God himself. If we look again at our passage, we find there is a prerequisite to being filled - it is that we are hungry and thirsty. To "desire" is to place one's self in a place that we can actually be filled.

What is it we desire above all else in our lives? If we stop for just a moment and do more than just give "lip service" to this little question, we might just be surprised to acknowledge it isn't God or his grace! It is that next promotion, or the new couch. It might be the relationship we believe will bring us great delight, or the freedom from the one that isn't doing much to delight us right now! All of these are not really going to meet that deep inner need we all have, though. They aren't all that bad - for to desire a promotion because one works hard and enjoys the tasks he or she completes is not a bad thing. To desire a relationship that is deep and meaningful is not at all bad. But...to desire any of these things as the primary things we will focus upon in life...that is where we cross the line into being more focused on what will please our souls than what will fill our spirit.

Jesus reminded his disciples of a very important truth - seek first the kingdom of God - - - then all these things would be added into their lives. We don't seek the things and then expect to find God in the mix! We seek God and if we see the things come our way, it is just a double-blessing! Just sayin!