WEEK TWO - SEEK HIM
WEEK DAY DEVOTIONALS
Tuesday: Seek Him First
______________________
“I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.” Habakkuk 2:1b
When something happens – when I’m scared, overwhelmed, excited, confused, hurt, or trying to make a decision – I’ve had to learn to ask myself a simple question:
Where do I instinctively go first?
My spouse? A trusted friend? Google? My phone? Or maybe my own ability to think, plan, prepare, and figure it out?
If I’m being truthful, there have been plenty of times when God wasn’t my first response.
I would pray – but sometimes only after I had worried, overthought, asked everyone else, tried to fix it myself, and exhausted every solution I could come up with.
None of those things were wrong. But God has been teaching me the difference between being prepared and being dependent.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Not seek the answer first. Not seek the perfect plan first. Not even seek the calling first.
Seek Him first.
Seeking God first doesn’t mean we never ask other people for wisdom or make plans for our future.
It means we stop asking God to bless the plans we’ve already made and begin asking Him what He wants before we make them.
And sometimes, like Habakkuk, that means asking – and then waiting expectantly to see what He will say.
Prayer isn’t only bringing our requests to God. It’s positioning ourselves to hear from Him.
I’m learning that seeking God first isn’t about proving my devotion to Him. It’s acknowledging my dependence on Him.
Jesus reminds us in John 15 that we were never meant to live independently of Him:
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.” (John 15:4)
The branch doesn’t produce fruit by striving harder. It remains connected to its Source.
And that’s where seeking Him first begins – with surrendering our plans, quieting the other voices, and saying:
“God, before I try to figure this out myself, I’m coming to You. What do You want?”
In what ways do I seek other things or people instead of going to God first?
______________________
Father,
You are self-sufficient. You need nothing, yet everything and everyone depends on You. Thank You for Your faithfulness and for the countless ways You have already guided me – every step You have directed and even the ways You were working when I couldn’t yet see it. Forgive me for the times I look everywhere else before I look to You. Teach me to seek You first and depend on You instead of my own understanding or ability. Help me surrender my plans, remain in You, and listen expectantly for Your voice. Quiet the other voices competing for my attention and teach me to trust that You are present, You are faithful, and You are worth seeking first.
Amen.
“I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.” Habakkuk 2:1b
When something happens – when I’m scared, overwhelmed, excited, confused, hurt, or trying to make a decision – I’ve had to learn to ask myself a simple question:
Where do I instinctively go first?
My spouse? A trusted friend? Google? My phone? Or maybe my own ability to think, plan, prepare, and figure it out?
If I’m being truthful, there have been plenty of times when God wasn’t my first response.
I would pray – but sometimes only after I had worried, overthought, asked everyone else, tried to fix it myself, and exhausted every solution I could come up with.
None of those things were wrong. But God has been teaching me the difference between being prepared and being dependent.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Not seek the answer first. Not seek the perfect plan first. Not even seek the calling first.
Seek Him first.
Seeking God first doesn’t mean we never ask other people for wisdom or make plans for our future.
It means we stop asking God to bless the plans we’ve already made and begin asking Him what He wants before we make them.
And sometimes, like Habakkuk, that means asking – and then waiting expectantly to see what He will say.
Prayer isn’t only bringing our requests to God. It’s positioning ourselves to hear from Him.
I’m learning that seeking God first isn’t about proving my devotion to Him. It’s acknowledging my dependence on Him.
Jesus reminds us in John 15 that we were never meant to live independently of Him:
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.” (John 15:4)
The branch doesn’t produce fruit by striving harder. It remains connected to its Source.
And that’s where seeking Him first begins – with surrendering our plans, quieting the other voices, and saying:
“God, before I try to figure this out myself, I’m coming to You. What do You want?”
In what ways do I seek other things or people instead of going to God first?
______________________
Father,
You are self-sufficient. You need nothing, yet everything and everyone depends on You. Thank You for Your faithfulness and for the countless ways You have already guided me – every step You have directed and even the ways You were working when I couldn’t yet see it. Forgive me for the times I look everywhere else before I look to You. Teach me to seek You first and depend on You instead of my own understanding or ability. Help me surrender my plans, remain in You, and listen expectantly for Your voice. Quiet the other voices competing for my attention and teach me to trust that You are present, You are faithful, and You are worth seeking first.
Amen.