27 January - Look Again and Think

I remember a Sunday School class -- Gospel Principles to be exact -- in which I had just been reading these very scriptures and said, "We can find the answer to every question in the scriptures. Every question." And I was challenged, "Not every one ... not the what color socks to wear that day." I stopped talking then because I really didn't want to argue.

But the devotion today says we must work to keep God first -- "first" as in singular, primary, only, not as in a sequence. The admonition to "Seek first the kingdom of God ..." is not an "if-then" statement. It does not mean, if you seek God on Sunday, then you are free to do whatever you want the other days. It means actively looking for God in our lives, looking for His purpose and His alone.

The problem is that there are so many forces, even within our own families, that insist that you must plan for every eventuality. What are we going to do if this happens. That's the other danger of "if-thens" ... the process of thinking about the possibilities pull us away from the presence of God. Remember, that God is only in our present. He is Eternal but we are bounded by the temporal.

We cannot exist in the past or the future. Yet the world insists that we either find our motivations by dredging up the past to determine why we do something today or lose ourselves in endless daydreams about our future. Please don't misunderstand ... I don't hate goals, just the waste that continual planning and then never acting breeds.

Spend the next week "being anxious for nothing." Really try it ... this might just be your best week ever!