"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added to you."
and all these things shall be added to you."
Matthew 6:33
The story was told that King George V wrote these words in the flyleaf of a friend's Bible. "The secret of happiness is not to do what you like to do, but to learn to like what you have to do." Happiness is about your priority. Jesus defined the greatest priority in any one's life is to seek first the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the will of God. Jesus taught us to pray to our Father in heaven, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done." The words kingdom and will are one and the same in this Hebraic couplet. It was a literary style that said the same thing in two ways.
The kingdom of God, that is the will of God in our lives, brings joy. "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit working in our lives (Galatians 5:22). The secret of happiness is the joy of the Lord. It is the will of God for our lives. It can only come when the will of God is our priority.
Can you say that you are happy today? A teacher asked his high school students what they wanted out of life. The first response was from a student who said, "I want to be happy. That's all, I just want to be happy." The Constitution of the USA promises its citizens the freedom of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Remember from the teaching of Jesus, happiness comes from the pursuit of the kingdom of God. The secret of happiness is knowing and doing the will of God.
Father, help us to know and to do Your will through Jesus Christ our Lord.
