People imagine, as have I, that peace is found when your priorities are in order. But I don’t think it’s a matter of finding your most important priority and always putting it first. It’s a matter of finding the piece that makes every other piece fall into place. And as chaotic as life may be, as restless, as busy, I believe there is something in life, some piece, some priority, that makes every other single aspect fall into the perfect place it was designed to fall into.
Jesus says that when we “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,” then “all these things” will be added to us (Matthew 6:33). When Jesus says to seek “first,” it’s a big word. It’s not “first thing in the morning,” “first thing on the list,” “first thing in priority,” “your first love,” or “first in importance.” It’s all of the above.
I don’t believe God is to be the first thing on my to-do list and after that I’m free to pursue whatever I want. Nor do I think He occupies the biggest pie slice of my time and after that, I can fill it however I like. As if as long as my biggest efforts go to God, I can put anything else in second, third, or fourth place.
When God wins, He sweeps the podium. Every other thing comes from Him, goes to Him, is for Him (Romans 11:36). He ends up being every item on my to-do list, every moment of my schedule.
That piece that makes all the other pieces fit is God. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and ALL THESE THINGS will be added to you. God as your priority does not make everything else unimportant. It makes everything else fit. When you see God, you see with twenty-twenty vision. You see everything with its proper importance, with its proper place. When God is the pinnacle of your universe, the cornerstone, the capstone, everything fits.
Excerpt from “Peace and How to Keep It.”