Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. – Matthew 6:33

This verse though it gives us a great promise, we have to see and remember that it is a conditional promise.  If we seek first Gods kingdom and its righteousness first, THEN all the other things that we would hope for will eventually come into our life. The emphasis is on how we prioritize our lives. This needs to come first before God will add all the other things to us.

Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. – James 4:8

If you want to have a closer relationship with God, this falls on you to peruse him.  This verse says to come close to him and then He will come close to you.  You can come closer to God by devoting time within your day to fellowshipping with Him, reading your bible and worshipping every day.

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” – Isaiah 30:21

When we are making a big decision in our lives we are to seek God.  But as we seek God, we have to take steps of faith in how we believe God is directing us.  It’s not until we take that step of faith that we will hear God confirming if it is the correct way.  The first step is always ours.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” – Genesis 12:1-3

God told Abraham to Go to a land that he will show him.  How was Abraham to know which way to go? Or how would he know when he gets there?  That’s just it. Most of the time when God is calling us to do something big, he will expect us to provide our obedience and go first and then as we are walking with him obediently, he will direct us to where we should go. But the first step is always ours.

Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. – Joshua 3:15-16

Now the Israelites needed a miracle as the Jordan river was at flood stage and they needed to cross.  God directed the priest to step into the water at flood stage.  As they provided their obedience, even though the water was at its highest level, God caused the water to divide so they could walk through.  So the take away for us is even though the situation could be as bad as it could get, God will tell us to take the first step in faith and only then He will cause the situation to be of no effect to you negatively.

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. – Hebrews 11:6

If we didn’t have faith first, we couldn’t even believe that there is a God.  None of us were alive when God made the world or when Jesus was alive on the earth. It required faith in what we read in the Bible first and by that faith, we then believe that God will do everything that He said that he would do and reward us as we diligently seek him.

“But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!’” So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed! – 2 Kings 5:13-14

For Naaman to be healed of leprosy he would have to first obey the directions from Elisha. It was only after he provided his obedience that he was healed. The same can be true for us today also. God may be telling us to do a certain practical thing or could be telling us to avoid a certain food to keep us from getting sick in the first place. But once God speaks the first action is always on us to receive our miracle.

After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat. Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. – 2 Chronicles 20:1-3

So here before Jehoshaphat even picked up a weapon to fight or tell his generals to prepare for battle he inquired of the Lord and proclaimed a fast for all of Judah. This was the first step that was taken in this situation. To seek the face of God at the onset of the conflict to get His direction. How many of us just go and do things without seeking God? Or even do nothing at all. The first step when there is a challenge in front of you is to seek Gods face for the strategy to use to gain the victory.

Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.” – Joshua 6:1-5

So here we see that Jericho was well secured and the gates were tightly shut to prevent Joshua and the Israelites from entering. God knowing this, said that He has given Jericho to Joshua.. even though it didn’t look like it. God then proceeded to give him the strategy or the first action to take in this battle to be victorious. There may be some things that you heard God said is yours. But you have not taken that first step to possess it. Here we see that Joshua heard the instructions from the Lord and carried them out to gain what God already gave him. What had God said is yours and you just need to follow through with your next steps??