First on the List 首要之务
Dexu Xia
Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.Matthew 6:33
The morning commenced like a track meet. I practically jumped out of bed, launching into the teeth of the day’s deadlines. Get the kids to school. Check. Get to work. Check. I blasted full throttle into writing my “To Do” list, in which personal and professional tasks tumbled together in an avalanche-like litany:
“ . . . 13. Edit article. 14. Clean office. 15. Strategic team planning. 16. Write tech blog. 17. Clean basement. 18. Pray.”
By the time I got to number eighteen, I’d remembered that I needed God’s help. But I’d gotten that far before it even occurred to me that I was going at it alone, trying to manufacture my own momentum.
Jesus knew. He knew our days would crash one into another, a sea of ceaseless urgency. So He instructs, “Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).
It’s natural to hear Jesus’ words as a command. And they are. But there’s more here—an invitation. In Matthew 6, Jesus invites us to exchange the world’s frantic anxiety (vv. 25–32) for a life of trust, day by day. God, by His grace, helps us all of our days—even when we get to number eighteen on our list before we remember to see life from His perspective.
By: Adam R. Holz
How can we turn to God first each day? On stressful days, what helps you trust Jesus with things demanding your immediate attention?
Father, thank You for your invitation to relinquish my anxiety and to embrace the life of abundant provision You offer me each day
你们要先求祂的国和祂的义，这些东西都要加给你们了。—马太福音6章33节
每天早晨就像参加田径赛一样。我几乎是从床上跳起来，然后开始投入当天必须完成的事情。送孩子上学，完成；开始工作，完成。我加足马力，写下“待办事项”的清单，其中个人事务与工作洋洋洒洒地交织在一起﹕
“……13.编辑文章。14.打扫办公室。15.团队策略规划。16.撰写科技博客。17.清扫地下室。18.祈祷。”
我做到第18项时，才想起自己需要上帝的帮助。而在此之前，我竟然没有想到自己是独自一人去完成这些事，试图靠自己得到动力。
这些耶稣都知道。祂知道我们的待办事项总是一个接着一个，而且还得要应付层出不穷的紧急事件。因此，祂教导众人：“你们要先求[上帝]的国和祂的义，这些东西都要加给你们了。”（马太福音6章33节）
把耶稣的话当做命令一般听从，这是很自然的，而且也确实如此。但在这里不只是个命令，更是一个邀请。在马太福音第6章，耶稣邀请我们，不要为这世上的事焦虑（25-32节），而是要每天信靠上帝。即使我们做到“待办事项”清单上的第18项时，才想起要从上帝的角度来看待生活，上帝仍会以祂的恩典帮助我们度过每一天。
每天的开始，我们要如何先转向上帝？
面对许多必须立即处理的事情，
你要如何信靠耶稣？
天父，感谢祢邀请我抛开忧虑，
享受祢每天都丰盛供应的生活