Most of us read this verse and focus on the second half. The "all these things will be given to you" part. We want the provision, the breakthrough, the open door — and we want to know how to get it. But Jesus says the answer is in the first half. Seek first. Everything else follows.
That's not a formula. That's a reordering of your entire life.
Most of us spend our energy chasing what we want and fitting God into the margins. Jesus flips that completely. Put God first — genuinely, wholeheartedly first — and watch what He adds to your life that you could never have chased down on your own.
Seek First — What That Actually Means
Seeking God's kingdom first doesn't mean you ignore your practical needs. Jesus knew people needed food, clothing and provision — He mentioned those in the verses right before this one.
It means your primary pursuit — the thing you orient your life around — is God's kingdom and His righteousness. Not your career. Not your comfort. Not even your ministry.
His kingdom. His purposes. His agenda. His glory.
When that's genuinely first — not just in theory but in practice — something shifts. Doors open that you didn't knock on. Connections appear that you didn't arrange. Provision comes from directions you never expected.
You don't have to chase what God has already decided to give you. You just have to keep seeking Him first.
When God Lit a Fire I Never Asked For
I never had a heart for prison ministry. Not even a little bit.
Every time I thought about prison all I could picture were heavy iron doors slamming shut with me on the other side of them. The thought terrified me. I had been watching prison shows on television and had a couple of dreams about it — and I still couldn't shake the fear.
Then one day I was traveling home from visiting family and I ended up on a plane next to a woman I had never met. She began talking passionately to the person beside her about prison ministry — how she was involved, what God was doing behind those walls. I don't remember her name. I couldn't tell you what she looked like. But something ignited in my heart that day. A desire I had never had before — to minister to people behind prison walls.
The desire was there. But I had no idea how to get started.
I did some research. Then I went to my pastor and asked permission to start a prison ministry at our church. He said yes. What I didn't know at the time — and I don't think I fully realized until later — was that my pastor had been a prison chaplain in a former chapter of his life. God had placed me in a church with exactly the right person to say yes.
Nothing is by happenstance. Nothing.
We started the ministry and others joined. We had some deeply blessed times going in. I will share more of those stories one day.
When it was time for me to leave Virginia and move to Maryland I still drove back to continue the ministry for a while. But I wanted to find something closer to my new home. Then a family member's aunt — someone I was introduced to completely unexpectedly — turned out to be doing prison ministry in Washington DC. I started going with her a few times.
She hosted a workshop and invited me. That's where I was connected with Ms. Margaret — a woman who had been facilitating prison ministry throughout the Maryland prison system for years. Everybody knew Ms. Margaret. I started going with her and did it for years. It became one of the most wonderful experiences of my entire life.
Here's what I want you to see. I never chased any of those connections. The woman on the plane. The pastor who happened to be a former chaplain. The family member's aunt. Ms. Margaret. Every single door opened because I said yes to what God was putting in my heart — and He handled everything else.
You go into prison thinking you came to be a blessing. You end up being the one who is blessed. God works it out when you follow His lead.
All These Things Will Be Added
Notice Jesus doesn't say you will find all these things. He says they will be added to you.
Added is passive. It means it comes to you — not because you hunted it down but because you were in the right position for God to bring it.
That's the promise. When you genuinely seek His kingdom first — when you say yes to what He puts in your heart even when it scares you — He adds what you need. The connections. The provision. The open doors. The right people at the right time.
You don't have to engineer your life. You don't have to chase every opportunity or manufacture every connection.
Seek first. Trust Him with the rest. And watch what gets added.
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Lord I confess that I spend more time chasing what I want than seeking what You want. Today I reorder my priorities. Your kingdom first. Your righteousness first. I trust You to add everything else I need — in Your way, in Your time, through connections and doors I couldn't arrange on my own. Have Your way in my life today.Amen.