THINK VICTORY! Am I Obsessed with Something?

ARE YOU OBSESSED WITH SOMETHING?

"Who is man that fears the Lord?" Psalm 25:12

My son-in-law, Garrett, likes to get my wheels going with projects around the house. We have been trying to get grass to grow in a portion of our yard and have been unsuccessful for years. Garrett suggested that we just put wood chips there are make a wild garden.

I have found that gardening is a good outlet for me from the pressure and stress. So immediately my wheels started turning and I spent eight hours one Saturday making it happen. I built several raised beds and started mulching the area. The project started out as a "work in progress" but I realize that it has become an obsession. If not careful, it can turn into a monster.

Chambers whacked me between the eyeballs yesterday about areas of obsession:

"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." (My Utmost for His Highest - Oswald Chambers)

This morning we will gather together for worship. What will occupy your mind during the singing? The reading of the Word? The preaching of the Word? Rather than be obsessed with the "stuff" on our to-do list or whatever occupies our minds - may be obsessed with HIM - the reason we gather for worship. May that obsession with His presence occupy our thoughts every day of our lives. Enjoy worshipping HIM today.

GREAT QUOTE: Should we say, "perhaps you should try Jesus as your Savior" ...almost with a consumer market oriented mentality"?. "There are lots of religious options and if you try this particular religious option you might like it." ... No... rather, Jesus is Lord and he will soon be invading with His armies. He is offering pardon in advance of His invasion and should you receive the pardon and ally yourself with Him now before He invades, when he comes you will be considered HIs ally and He will raise you to Kingship. The alternative is to be under the wrath of the king. It is not some kind of religious option. It an announcement that a new king is on the throne and he'll be invading. The gospel is not an invitation to an array of a buffet style choices, it is a command. Will you heed the command? Jesus is Lord, repent and believe.
-William Wilder