Obsession

 July 25, 2021

God answers prayer! Sometimes quicker and in ways we don’t expect. Yesterday, my reading of Psalm 24 convicted me of allowing distractions to take precedence over my time with God. As I read this psalm, I was thinking about how easily I allow the news or social media to encroach on the time I’ve set apart for reading my Bible and praying. I get started and need to look up a text or definition, when something catches my attention and off I go! It goes back to when I was a kid, looking up something in the encyclopedia for a homework assignment. Hours later, I’d still be sitting on the stairs, reading. I learned a lot, but inadvertently developed up the bad habit of distraction. 

This morning, it wasn’t the distractions of Facebook or newsfeeds that God brought to mind. It was cars, as in automobiles. Linda and I have been looking for a replacement for our 2013 Fusion. It’s still running strong, but has plenty of miles on it. As summer began, we thought it best to start looking before it developed problems so we wouldn’t find ourselves in the pressure place where we had to do something quickly. A friend recently stopped by in a Hyundai Ioniq, a hybrid vehicle. Its mileage impressed me, so I started researching it and others. I read articles, watched videos, talked with dealers. And did it all over again. And again. Unfortunately, our vehicle of choice seems to be unavailable anywhere. Unfortunately too, I began to obsess over it, thinking about it continually…until God brought it to light this morning.

So this morning as I read that text again, God convicted me. “Instead of a pure, undivided heart, you are putting this vehicle hunt before Me, preventing you from truly entering My Presence.” Ouch! I had a choice, so I deliberately put it all in God’s hands. Immediately, he put within my mind a quiet confidence that he will bring to us the very vehicle we decided upon. I can’t remember ever before declaring such a thing publicly. Tomorrow, I’ll call the dealer and tell him he’s going to find it, but today, instead of continuing to obsess over it, I ascend the hill of the LORD, knowing the earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it.