I remember one night when my dad and brother were gone, and mom and I wanted to set the VCR to record a TV show. I can imagine my children shaking their heads at that archaic technology, but at the time it was super cool that we could do such a thing.

So we got out the instruction booklet. I can’t remember if mom read and I pushed the buttons or if I read and she pushed the buttons.

Step by step we followed the sequence of actions. As we laboriously neared the end of the process, we came to this instruction:

But first…

We looked at each other and burst out laughing. We had done all those steps and then they told us what to do first? We never did get that show recorded.

I catch myself doing this kind of sequence all the time. 1) Worry. 2) Worry. 3) Cry about it. 4) Take ibuprofen for headache. 5) Worry. 6) But first…

But first I should have prayed.

But first I should have asked God for help.

But first I should have sought God’s wisdom.

I always feel tired frustrated when I get myself worked up about something and then, maybe hours later, realize I should have started with focused prayer as a first step. (This may have happened just recently.)

Jesus tells his followers:

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness…  (Matthew 6:33a NIV)

This is the action we should take before we walk through a sequence of worrying about things. I have honed the practice of gut-twisting worry until I can perform it in my sleep, but I would like to be done with anxiety. I want to be a person of peace, and I know you want a peaceful heart, too.

So we need to do things in the correct order.

1) Talk to God about it.