Are You Obsessed by Something?

In my quiet time this morning, I felt the urge to write something, in my blog. I also had my heart open to a message to preach this weekend at the lake. Last month was a rain out and I had a sermon on: Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. I wanted to show how God should be 100% the main focus of our lives and how we should abide in Him. How when our minds go idle for a brief second in our daily routine which takes our minds off Him and onto our work or schoolwork, our thoughts should automatically go straight to Him. I didn’t get to use it, and was considering using it again. I don’t mind reusing the same sermon or an unused sermon again, but only if I feel it is from God and it is laid on my heart. Otherwise it will be a “duh” boring speech that just comes off the pages of notes instead from my heart through the Holy Spirit. Anyways, I read different devotionals and as I sat down at my desk I reached down and picked up “My Utmost for His Highest”. This has a special place in my heart, because I have learned a lot from this book. It is a challenging read, and hits straight at your heart. It does tend to be deep and requires rereading to get what was said. Maybe I will go into some of the things I have learned from it one day. Anyways, I picked it up and opened it. This book has been used so much it is falling apart, but I would not want a new one. Anyways, it opened to this particular devotion. “Are You Obsessed by Something?” As I read it, I asked myself the question, “Am I obsessed by something?” I know of the things that obsess my life, and I want God to be the one I am obsessed about. I saw how my life is like the one described in the devotion, but I want more. I want my obsession to be like it has been at times in the past. Actually I want it to be more than it was in the past. Anyways, talk about confirmation about what to share here today and about the sermon this weekend at the lake, here it is. I didn’t look at the date listed for this devotion. I wanted to share it with everyone, but didn’t want to type it out, so I Googled, “My Utmost for His Highest” so I could copy and past it. The first return was for “Are You obsessed by Something?” That seemed odd, but sometimes I am slow, so I clicked it and the exact devotion came up, now I wander why that was at the top of the list, then it hit me. I looked at my devotion book again, it said June 2. The book had come open to today’s devotion. Wow, God has something to say. Here is the devotion. I pray that it lights a desire in you to be more obsessed with God

. June 2, 2009
Are You Obsessed by Something?
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Who is the man that fears the Lord? —Psalm 25:12
Are you obsessed by something? You will probably say, "No, by nothing," but all of us are obsessed by something— usually by ourselves, or, if we are Christians, by our own experience of the Christian life. But the psalmist says that we are to be obsessed by God. The abiding awareness of the Christian life is to be God Himself, not just thoughts about Him. The total being of our life inside and out is to be absolutely obsessed by the presence of God. A child’s awareness is so absorbed in his mother that although he is not consciously thinking of her, when a problem arises, the abiding relationship is that with the mother. In that same way, we are to "live and move and have our being" in God ( Acts 17:28 ), looking at everything in relation to Him, because our abiding awareness of Him continually pushes itself to the forefront of our lives.
If we are obsessed by God, nothing else can get into our lives— not concerns, nor tribulation, nor worries. And now we understand why our Lord so emphasized the sin of worrying. How can we dare to be so absolutely unbelieving when God totally surrounds us? To be obsessed by God is to have an effective barricade against all the assaults of the enemy.
"He himself shall dwell in prosperity . . ." ( Psalm 25:13 ). God will cause us to "dwell in prosperity," keeping us at ease, even in the midst of tribulation, misunderstanding, and slander, if our "life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). We rob ourselves of the miraculous, revealed truth of this abiding companionship with God. "God is our refuge . . ." ( Psalm 46:1 ). Nothing can break through His shelter of protection.

How has this touched or encouraged you?