“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” – Luke 12:32
Have you ever read a passage of scripture that felt so convicting, so hard to get, that you just felt paralyzed by it? That was how I felt as I read one morning through Luke 12:15-34:
…’Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions’…do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing… For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
After reading that I thought, ‘God, there are so many times where I find great security and life in what I have and want. I always think about food, and worry about worldly stuff. I also began questioning myself on where I spend my money. Because, as verse 34 indicates, where I spend my money is a good indication of what my heart loves and thinks about most. God, please help me with these things.
My initial instinct was to begin selling all of my possessions. But then I read these verses again. I began to realize that these verses weren’t simply pointing to the particulars of life – food, drink, or possessions – it was about what I was seeking. What is the priority of my heart?
The problem hit me. It wasn’t that I wasn’t seeking God, but rather that my priorities had been divided. The world had slowly snuck into my daily pursuits once again and my heart had more than one priority. So I asked myself the questions: What do I believe “life” consists of? What do I want to seek for most? What am I most worried about? What do I look forward too the most?
After a sweet time of repentance, I prayed “God help my heart to have one priority, one passion, one security, one comfort, one pleasure – You and Your Kingdom. Please help me with that.”
Luke 12:32 echoed back to me during my prayer,
Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
God’s passion is to give me what my heart seeks most, namely Him and His reign in my life and in this world. As we seek God’s Kingdom may we not fear, for it is God’s good infinite and all-powerful pleasure, to give us the Kingdom!