{"id":14924,"date":"2026-07-03T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/?p=14924"},"modified":"2026-04-30T07:15:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:15:35","slug":"joy-in-gods-kingdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/03\/joy-in-gods-kingdom\/","title":{"rendered":"Joy in God&#8217;s Kingdom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two-minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/July-4th-819x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/July-4th-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/July-4th-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/July-4th-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/July-4th.png 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the past couple of years, I\u2019ve had job opportunities arise with different non-profit organizations. The idea of a steady paycheck has a lot of appeal. But as I prayed and sought God\u2019s will, I quickly realized I would have to give up what I feel called to do. Even though I would serve Him in a different capacity, with a steadier income, it would pull me away from my calling. And so I declined them and continued the path the Lord has for me, finding peace, fulfillment, and an alignment with God\u2019s purpose for my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When we seek the Lord\u2019s kingdom first, we make Him our top priority. Even when we have opportunities that seem good, they may take us away from God and His purpose for us. We must put the Father\u2019s will above our own plans, living with integrity, humility, and trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus addresses a very human struggle: worry. We fret about food, clothing, the future, and whether we\u2019ll have enough. But God doesn\u2019t want us to live tied up in knots over material things. Instead, He wants us to seek Him first and foremost, and the Lord will give us the rest. As our provider, He has the resources to fulfill all our needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The more we seek God\u2019s kingdom, the more our lives will reflect His values: love, justice, and mercy. Our Savior never promised us a life without trouble. But He does promise that when we put the Lord first, He will provide everything we truly need, including peace, direction, and purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Essentially, Jesus flips our mindset from <em>\u201cGet everything together, then focus on God\u2026\u201d <\/em>to <em>\u201cPut God first, and everything else will fall into place.\u201d <\/em>Our priorities determine our peace. Provision follows alignment, not anxiety. The Lord wants to lead our lives, and when we make Him our priority, He will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Reflection:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>What is currently competing with God for first place in your life?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Joy Thought:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Prioritize God, and He\u2019ll take care of the rest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two-minute read. Over the past couple of years, I\u2019ve had job opportunities arise with different non-profit organizations. The idea of a steady paycheck has a lot of appeal. But as I prayed and sought God\u2019s will, I quickly realized I would have to give up what I feel called to do. Even though I would&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/03\/joy-in-gods-kingdom\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Joy in God&#8217;s Kingdom<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14924"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14927,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14924\/revisions\/14927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}