First Thing First

Day 61
Now you see that I have given you everything you need. All things are mine, and I make available to you whatever you need. I freely give you all things. It is never your job to acquire material things. All of that is taken care of. It is your job to find out what I have assigned you, and walk it out in obedience.

The more time you spend in getting to know Me and my ways, the more clearly you will see what I am asking you to do each day. You were designed according to my purposes. The pieces of the puzzle will fit perfectly, and exactly in the right order, when you follow my instructions.

Know my principles. By carrying them in your heart you will know immediately when they are being violated and how to correct it. I give you the means at just the right time. Obey my principles, and all the wrinkles will get ironed out, and then the pieces will fit together.

You can't worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you'll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can't worship God and Money both. If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body.

Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds. Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?


What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.


Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes [Matthew 6:24-34, The Message]