I have a confession to make: I'm an obsessive person. And that's not particularly good. But when I go into something, I go into it full-throttle. If I'm reading a book, I get totally immersed, and I can think of hardly anything else. If I watch a movie I love, then I'll watch it every day for a week and eat, sleep and breathe this movie. I can get obsessed with lots of things, from certain songs to a good artist, from an author to a type of food, from a piece of clothing to a dance. If there's something I like - well, it just becomes a passion.
By definition, obsessed means,
This realization struck me the other day: We need to be obsessed with God.
All throughout Scripture, we see people who are obsessed with God. One example is David. David was rich. He was king. He had all the worldly pleasures that could be afforded. Yet he wasn't obsessed over them. He was obsessed with God. You see this from Psalms, the prayers, that he writes to God.
"On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate." Psalm 145:5
"For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation." Psalm 62:1
"O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. ... Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. ... My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." Psalm 63:1,3,8
See, my obsessiveness can get me into trouble sometimes. The reason for that is because I focus on unimportant things that get me unfocused on other more important things. And my obsessiveness is always on the trivial things, like a sweater or a novel.
But if I strove to focus all my obsessive energy on God, I'd be like David and spend all my time thinking about the most important Being of all!
Another thing about my obsessiveness - what I'm obsessed with comes and goes. I get over that novel I couldn't put down. I stop thinking about that movie so much. I don't listen to that song a thousand times anymore. My sweater eventually gets donated to the Canadian Diabetes Society. My obsessiveness is actually fickle; it wavers.
But obsessiveness with God is different. That is something that would (and should) stay. If every thought is dominated by Him, His commands, His promises, His praise, that's not something that's fleeting. It won't burn up for a while, and then fizzle away. It's lasting and liberating.
So I hope you get obsessed. I hope I get obsessed. I hope we get obsessed. With God.
By definition, obsessed means,
"The domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent image, idea, desire, etc."And when I really think about it, if my thoughts or feelings are dominated by clothes, music, books or TV, how is the focus on God?
This realization struck me the other day: We need to be obsessed with God.
All throughout Scripture, we see people who are obsessed with God. One example is David. David was rich. He was king. He had all the worldly pleasures that could be afforded. Yet he wasn't obsessed over them. He was obsessed with God. You see this from Psalms, the prayers, that he writes to God.
"On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate." Psalm 145:5
"For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation." Psalm 62:1
"O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. ... Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. ... My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." Psalm 63:1,3,8
See, my obsessiveness can get me into trouble sometimes. The reason for that is because I focus on unimportant things that get me unfocused on other more important things. And my obsessiveness is always on the trivial things, like a sweater or a novel.
But if I strove to focus all my obsessive energy on God, I'd be like David and spend all my time thinking about the most important Being of all!
Another thing about my obsessiveness - what I'm obsessed with comes and goes. I get over that novel I couldn't put down. I stop thinking about that movie so much. I don't listen to that song a thousand times anymore. My sweater eventually gets donated to the Canadian Diabetes Society. My obsessiveness is actually fickle; it wavers.
But obsessiveness with God is different. That is something that would (and should) stay. If every thought is dominated by Him, His commands, His promises, His praise, that's not something that's fleeting. It won't burn up for a while, and then fizzle away. It's lasting and liberating.
So I hope you get obsessed. I hope I get obsessed. I hope we get obsessed. With God.