“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:31-33 (ESV)

As a woman, do you wear a lot of hats? During the course of a busy week, you may wear any of these hats: counselor, co-worker, daughter, sister, friend, wife, mother, aunt, grandma, neighbor, chef, nurse, counselor, referee, committee chair, and oh, yeah … a woman of God.

Sometimes these hats are stacked so high that trying to balance them all on our competent-but-anxious-and-exhausted heads sends us toppling over completely!

It’s easy to misplace our identity in such roles. And sadly for many Christ-followers, often the last hat we place on top is the crown we wear as a daughter of the King of Kings.

I love the simple, straight-shooting words of Jesus in Matthew 6:33. He cuts to the chase with clear, understandable directives. Without being complex, He tells us gently, but firmly, what must be done to meet the many demands in our lives and yet still help our hearts not to worry: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

However simple these verses may be, sometimes fleshing them out in our lives isn’t always easy. Especially in today’s society, a climate of endless activities often breeds busyness. And busyness usually births an anxious soul, as we wrongly surmise that busyness equals importance.

As a result of buying into this keep-moving mindset, we have practically no white space left on our calendars. Our kids are carted from one activity to the next and many families hardly eat dinner together anymore. Something in us longs to “do more” by painting our lives in a bright, bold shade of busy.

Although we live in a much different time than the original recipients of Jesus’ words, He wants us to learn from them nonetheless. They were concerned about where they’d find food and clothing. While we share those concerns, we also add things like how we will clean the house, bathe the kids, finish the laundry, prioritize the marriage, visit the relative, complete the work project … and on it goes.

While our unfinished tasks may tempt us to fret, Christ stands whispering … Stop. Halt the hustle. Resist the rush. Press pause to find a little calm in the chaos. Seek first Mykingdom and My righteousness, and all of these things will be given to you as well.

Perhaps His words will prompt us to do a little hat-reduction, ridding our schedules of some of the activities that clamor for our attention, unsettle our souls and draw us away from time spent with Him.

By pressing pause to connect with Jesus we can learn to re-prioritize our tasks — perhaps bowing out of some optional activities as we do — and calm our anxious hearts. Our lives can then properly reflect this truth: Busyness doesn’t equal importance and our most important endeavor each day is to simply slow down and connect with our Creator.

Whatever set of hats God directs you to keep wearing, remember to don them in proper order. They will only stay standing when you place the crown you wear as a daughter of the King of Kings on first!

Dear Lord, I’m sorry for the times that my hats are completely out of order, causing my heart to become anxious. May I seek You and the righteousness You offer me first every day, before I attempt to carry out any of my God-ordained responsibilities. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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TRUTH FOR TODAY:

Matthew 6:25, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” (NIV)

Psalm 31:14-15a, “But I trust in you, LORD; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hands …” (NIV)

Galatians 3:26, “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” (NLT)

RELATED RESOURCES:

For more encouragement to spend time with God each day, check out Karen Ehman’s new book, Pressing Pause: 100 Quiet Moments for Moms to Meet with Jesus.

To connect with Karen, stop by her blog, where she is giving away 3 free copies of Pressing Pause today.

REFLECT AND RESPOND:

When it comes to the many hats you wear as a woman, which ones make you the most anxious?

How could taking time to connect with God before meeting the challenges of the day help calm your fretful heart? Have a friend hold you accountable to spending time in God’s Word each day.

© 2016 by Karen Ehman. All rights reserved.