With what issues does God want me to wrestle?

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

The most important issue with which we should wrestle is how to “seek the Kingdom of God above all else.” Knowing God and living his way should be our highest priority.

Mark 12:32-34The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.” Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

We see here and elsewhere (for example, Matthew 22:37-40) Jesus affirming the Old Testament teachings about how God’s people should live (see Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18). In addition to focusing our attention on loving God and seeking first his Kingdom, we should think through how we can love others.

James 1:22Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

Knowing what the Bible says is not enough—even understanding what it means. We also need to obey the Word, to apply it, to put it into practice. We should wrestle with this whenever we read the Bible, listen to a sermon, or participate in a group study. We should constantly strive to answer the question, “What does this mean for me, for my life, and how I should live?”