I felt a soft nudge recently to put my fingers on the keyboard and start writing again.

“God, what do You want me to talk about? You told me to write again, so I’m trusting you’ll give me the words.”

And that’s why you’re reading this right now.

Maybe God has something He wants to say to you. Maybe He has something He wants to say to me too. Most of the time when I write, I end up realizing He’s using the words to shape my own heart just as much as anyone else’s.

So, let’s see what He has to say.

“Are you really seeking first the Kingdom of God?”

As a Christian woman, my immediate answer is, “Yes!”

I wake up, make my coffee, open my Bible, read my devotionals, write in my prayer journal, and spend time with Him almost every morning. But lately, I’ve realized seeking God isn’t just about how I start my day. It’s entirely possible to get up from my quiet time and spend the rest of the day letting something else become the king of my heart. For me, it can be my children. My homeschool. My business. My podcast. I can move from genuinely believing Jesus is my everything at 7:00 a.m. to spending the next twelve hours proving with my thoughts, my energy, and my attention that something else actually is.

That realization stopped me in my tracks.

Do I pursue God with the same intensity that I pursue making sure my kids are learning? Building my business? Publishing another podcast episode?

The honest answer is… no.

I’ve stayed awake at night thinking through business decisions.

I’ve replayed conversations over and over.

I’ve imagined every possible outcome.

I’ve spent hours trying to solve problems that haven’t even happened yet.

But I have rarely given God that same space in my mind, not because He needed it, but because I trusted Him less than I trusted my own ability to figure things out. And yet, I’ll lift my hands in worship with complete confidence when someone reads:

“Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

Do I believe that verse?

Absolutely.

But was I living it?

Not really.

And that’s what the Holy Spirit has been faithfully pressing into my heart. “Don’t just believe it, Jill. Live it.” So I asked Him: “Okay… what does that actually look like?”

I got quiet.

Not just physically quiet—but quiet in my soul.

I stopped trying to force my own vision long enough to ask Him for His. I surrendered my plans and simply prayed, “What’s right for my life in Your eyes, God? Don’t let my flesh get in the way. Show me Your way.” I’m beginning to realize that seeking first His Kingdom means moving everything else out of first place. It means asking Him what He wants before assuming I already know. It means trusting that His priorities for my life are always better than the ones I create for myself. His direction will always align with His Word. It will always reflect His character. And while it often requires laying down good things—not sinful things, but good things—it always leads to something better.

Sometimes it feels like dying to the plans you were convinced were best. But somehow, what He replaces them with feels lighter. It feels peaceful.It feels freeing. It feels right.

Because it is.

I spent a long time pushing my own vision. And everything felt hard. Motherhood felt heavy. Business felt exhausting. Even being home felt like pressure. But when I began trading my agenda for His, something surprising happened. The very things I had been striving so hard to accomplish started falling into place without all the striving.

His words became real to me:

“My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

So why do we insist on carrying burdens He never asked us to carry?

The truth is that we were never in control to begin with. Busyness can fool us into believing we’re holding everything together, but eventually striving always leaves us tired. God never asked us to build our lives that way. He asked us to seek Him first. Today, I can honestly say I’m finally beginning to understand. I’m learning to lay even the good things at His feet and pray:

“These are Yours, not mine. Your way is better than mine. Show me how to love my family. Show me how to homeschool. Show me how to build a business. Show me how to care for my home. Show me how to love my husband. I don’t want my way anymore—I want Yours.”

And every time I do, peace follows.

Not because every circumstance suddenly changes, but because the things I was trying so desperately to control are finally in the hands they belonged in all along.

His.

The safest place they could ever be.

Three Ways to Seek the Kingdom First This Week

1. Ask before you act.
Before you make a decision, solve a problem, or plan your day, pause and ask, “Lord, what would You have me do?” Even thirty seconds of surrender changes the posture of your heart.

2. Pay attention to what occupies your mind.
What do you naturally replay, worry about, or obsess over? Those places often reveal what has quietly taken first place in your heart. When you notice it, gently hand it back to God.

3. End each day with open hands.
Before you go to bed, picture yourself placing your children, your marriage, your work, your finances, your dreams—everything—into His hands. Pray, “These are Yours. Help me trust You with what I cannot control.”

Seeking first the Kingdom isn’t about adding another spiritual task to your checklist.

It’s about allowing Jesus to remain King long after you’ve closed your Bible for the morning.