Don' t Expect Blessings Without Work.....

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one [j]cubit to his [k]stature?“ So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not [l]arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:25-34)

 Don' t Expect Blessings Without Work..... yes we are instructed to trust God. We are instructed to not worry about everyday things or even the things of tomorrow. While birds do not "deep and sow", they do work to provide. Consider the work ethic of the ant (Proverbs 6:6-8).

In the verses from Matthew 6 above, there is a key verse for us: Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God! Our priority is not money, retirement accounts, clothing, cars, housing or other things. Seeking the Kingdom of God is building into other's lives, investing in relationships, sacrifice, service, stewardship, discipleship, producing fruit and Godly character. Then, if we do these things, the other "things" (things we need) will be provided by God.

Putting God and His Kingdom values first will change our personal priorities. As we work the Kingdom priorities, personal priorities take a back seat. We will accept God's will more often than we question it. Hard work in general will not produce the things of God unless we are seeking Him in our labor. Our Godly labor is not in vain! (1 Corinthians 15:58)

So, Don' t Expect Blessings Without Work.....