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Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

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The first Sunday of a new year carries a particular kind of weight. Not pressure, exactly—but potential. It's like standing on the threshold of a room you haven’t stepped into yet. The floor is still clean. The walls are bare. And you get to decide what fills the space.

What you do with the beginning often sets the tone for everything that follows. That’s why today matters. Not because it has to be flawless. But because it offers you the chance to name your direction. To ask, before the noise rises: What will define this year for me?

Jesus gives us a clear answer in Matthew 6:33. He’s just finished telling his followers not to get tangled up in the worries that so often consume us—what we’ll eat, drink, wear, accomplish. Instead, he says, “Seek first the kingdom of God.”

It’s not just good advice—it’s a realignment. A recalibration of priorities. A reordering of our hearts.

Think of your life like a shelf. Every priority, commitment, and desire is an item on it. There’s limited space. You can’t fit everything. Some things will have to be placed lower. Others might not make it at all. But what goes on the top shelf? What gets your clearest focus, your first energy, your strongest “Yes”?

Jesus is inviting you to start the year by giving the top shelf to God’s kingdom. Not in a vague or lofty way, but in the everyday decision-making of your life. He’s not asking you to quit your job and go live in a monastery. He’s asking you to live like his presence, his will, and his ways matter more than anything else—and to build your life accordingly.

That might mean rethinking what “success” looks like.
It might mean releasing some good things to make room for better ones.
It might mean praying before planning.
It might mean refusing to chase peace where it can’t actually be found.

When Jesus says, “All these things will be given to you as well,” he isn’t promising an easy life. He’s promising that your life will be rightly ordered. That your needs will not be neglected when your heart is rightly directed. When the kingdom comes first, the rest finds its place.

This isn’t about legalism. It’s about lordship.

Many people begin the year with a list of goals. And goals are good. But if we’re not careful, we’ll spend all our energy chasing outcomes and miss the deeper invitation: to be formed by God before we try to perform for anyone else.

Seeking the kingdom first isn’t just about Sunday routines. It’s about the posture of your inner life. It’s about asking: What story am I living in? Whose voice is leading me? What values are shaping my choices?

Sometimes the kingdom will lead you to go. Other times, it will ask you to stay. It might call you to courage. Or to stillness. But it will always call you to trust. Because seeking first doesn’t mean you have every answer—it means you know where to look for them.

And here's the paradox: putting God first doesn’t shrink your life. It expands it. It doesn't mean you have to care less about your responsibilities or relationships. It means those things get saturated with meaning because they’re flowing from the right source.

If you’ve ever watched someone pour liquid into a jar of rocks, you know the trick: the big rocks have to go in first. If you start with sand or water, there’s no room for what matters most. But when the priorities are placed first, everything else finds space around them.

The kingdom is the big rock. Righteousness is the big rock. The way of Jesus is not an add-on to your schedule—it’s the foundation for how your schedule gets shaped.

And if you’ve already felt behind this year—or like your start hasn’t been “spiritual” enough—don’t worry. It’s not too late. It never is. God is not interested in your resolution stats. He’s after your attention. And attention can be given right now. What would it look like for you to live this week with Matthew 6:33 on your mind?

Maybe it means starting your mornings with five minutes of silence and surrender. Maybe it means opening your Bible before you open your inbox. Maybe it means asking, before each big decision, “What does it look like to seek the kingdom here?” Maybe it means releasing anxiety about provision, trusting that when you put first things first, God handles the rest.

You don’t have to guess your way through this year. You don’t have to chase everything and end up burnt out by spring. You can begin with clarity, with simplicity, with deep trust in the One who has already gone before you.

Jesus is not calling you to an idealized version of yourself. He’s calling the real you, right now, to lift your eyes. To reset your priorities. To seek first what matters most. Because everything else in your life will be shaped by what you seek first. And today is a perfect day to choose.

Apply

Write Matthew 6:33 on a notecard or your phone lock screen. Let it guide your week. Before making any major decision or filling your calendar, pause and pray: “Jesus, let your kingdom come here first.”

Pray

Jesus, I want to seek first your kingdom. Before everything else. Before the noise, the plans, the expectations. Reorder my heart around your priorities. Show me what needs to move lower so you can stay central. Let this year be shaped by your presence, your truth, your peace. In Jesus’ name. Amen.