OBSESSED

Psalms 62:5 “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.”

Wilderness wanderings create a thirst for God because when he’s all we’ve got, he’s all we want. While writing this psalm, David has lost everything and now he’s able to find the only thing that will truly satisfy ­ God Himself. Psalm 62 is a song that will lead us to true satisfaction no matter what has happened to us. Before David was forced into the wilderness he was obsessed with his own comfort and the satisfaction of his own needs. It’s only when everything is taken from him that he becomes obsessed with God himself, finding full satisfaction in his praise of him.

What are you obsessed with today? An obsession is an “abnormal or intense pre-occupation; an irrational reverence or attachment.” What is it that compels and constrains you? Is it your position? A hobby? A sport? Money? A relationship? Do you obsess about a possession? Are you preoccupied with your health or with your family? Or do you have an “irrational reverence and attachment” to God? How much God do you really want in your life?

I suspect that most of you really want to find full satisfaction in your relationship with God. That reminds me of the man who bought an expensive hunting dog. Eager to see how he would perform, he took off to track a bear. No sooner had they arrived in the woods than the dog picked up the trail. But then the dog stopped, sniffed the ground, and headed in a new direction. He had caught the scent of a deer that had crossed the bear’s path. A few minutes later he halted again, this time smelling a rabbit. Every couple minutes the dog would stop and follow a different trail. Finally the breathless hunter caught up with his dog, only to find him barking triumphantly down the hole of a field mouse.

Sometimes we’re a lot like this dog. We start out with high resolve, keeping Christ first in our lives. We know the answer to the first question posed by the Westminster Confession: “What is the chief end of man?” “To glorify God and to enjoy him forever,” but our attention is often diverted to things of lesser importance.

Most of us are more empty than we care to admit. We know in our hearts that we can only find satisfaction and security in God. But we usually look everywhere else first. When we’re wandering in the wilderness, we’re often forced to admit that what the world offers doesn’t last because it promises more than it can deliver. When God is all we have, then he’s all we want. Or, to say it another way: When we allow the Lord to totally possess us, we will be obsessed with him.

Have you ever fully surrendered to God? As you focus inward do you have to admit there’s not much there? Are you ready to focus upward and forward? Are you ready to go hard after God? Cling to him and allow him to hold you in his righteous right hand. Let him possess you fully so that you can become obsessed with him.