A Beautiful Addiction

I haven’t really had the urge to write anything in what seems to be ages, but I cannot get past something that I have been dwelling on the last month or so. Before I fell in love with God I lived a life full of addictions. I was addicted to drugs, alcohol, women, sports, adrenaline, and cigarettes. Now I have really shifted spiritually to becoming addicted to Jesus. I look at the way the world is now, and how we all seem to live lives of addiction in our own ways. I believe that we were created to be addicts, addicts of the presence of God! There is something grafted into our spirits that long to addicted to something, and when it is not God it becomes things of this world. I am not saying that we can’t like things, but we are not to become addicted to them. The definition of addicted is being compulsively or physiologically dependent on something habit-forming. We are to habitually depend on Him. Too often do we depend on man to provide for us. We are addicted to feeling empowered by voting for people on television. We are addicted to having the newest electronical device to be current with society. We are addicted to reality television, where we live vicariously through others. We are addicted to sports, because we feel as if we are a part of something great. When all the while God made us to be addicted to Him, for He is already addicted to us. His love for us is so unconditional it is mind blowing. We are the only creatures that He took the time to place His very hands on to mold us into His likeness. He has the same addictive characteristics that we do, but He harnesses it with love for us. This reality has shaken me to the very core of my existence. I am not saying we cannot partake in the things that we enjoy, but we should not allow them to be put ahead of Him in any circumstance. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard God’s voice to spend time with Him that I ignored, because an exciting sports event was going on. I was seemed to be more entertained with what I was watching on television then the reality that God wanted to spend time with me. When I gained a revelation of this it broke my heart.  Have I arrived to the point where I run away from every enticing gaming event yet? No, unfortunately not but I have realized what I am doing. I am progressively getting better, and aside from playoff time I rarely watch sports as much as I used to. All I am saying is if watching a television show or a movie is more important than time with we God you need a reality check. God is more entertaining than anything in this world. I am still trying to get my head to catch up with my spirit on that, but I know that it is truth. How is a God of joy boring? How is a God that created all things dull? He isn’t He is the most entertaining Person in the world, and we have become addicted to false entertainment.

                I began to really look at those in the Bible that gave everything to Him, and lived a life after God. Back then they did not have all the bombardment of their sense that we have today, but they did have the choice to be addicted to God or not. I look at David and think to myself what makes a man write as many Psalms as he did. It was no other reason than the fact that He was addicted to the loving presence of God. David was so enamored with God that all He did was daydream about Him all day (Psalms 27:4). He would sit and sing praises to God, because of an addiction. Here is the future king of Israel who could have had any form of entertainment to His liking, and He chose to be entertained by God and God alone. Next I move to Daniel, who was thrown into a lion’s den for refusing to give up praying to God. Here was a man that was basically second in command of the Persian Empire at the time (Daniel 6) who was willing to give it all up, even to death, because of his addiction to God. Daniel could not give up his time of prayer, because I believe that he needed it to survive. It was as though he could no longer live if he could not communicate with his addiction. We need to allow ourselves to be allured into the place where we are addicted to worshiping God, praying with God, and in essence communing with Him. Now I move to Stephen who was accused of being a false witness of Christ. This man lived with a sole purpose of carrying out what God had set before him. He was falsely accused, and when brought to court gave one of the most powerful speeches I have read in the Word. He did not waver one inch from the very convictions in his heart, or give one ounce of instability to what he knew as truth. He got stoned to death, and even in that moment he looked to the heavens and asked God to forgive them (Acts 7). Each of these men faced grave adversity, which at most times led to dire consequences. When you are addicted to the God nothing else in this earth matter, because when it is all said in done everything but Him is just dust. We need our eyes opened to the very reality of what we long, and if it isn’t Him we need an awakening. Addiction is in our very DNA because God put it there hoping and longing that we would use it the way He does. He uses the addiction in Himself to love us, and we were made to do the very same. I know people that are addicted to relationships, and this is just a parallelism of what it is supposed to be like. Instead of wanting to be in a relationship with others, whether platonic or romantic, burn to be in a relationship with the One that will love you more than anyone else ever could. He is looking for the Bride once again that will be addicted to Him. In other words, He is looking for the burning ones to arise. To be addicted to Him is to be a burning one for Him.

                Lord I pray that You grip us with the reality of addiction. I pray that You help purge out all addiction in our lives, and that we are only addicted to You Father. Put a holy addiction deep within this nation Father. Let the youth arise with an addiction to You instead of addictions to things of this world. We can no longer be held back by sensory pleasing things, for You are the ultimate pleasure. I pray that all of the senses that You have given us be awakened to find goodness in You. Let us be able to use these senses the way You originally intended them to be. Let us use are eyes to see Your beautiful face, our ears to hear Your thundering voice, our nose to smell Your sweet fragrance, our tongues to taste the honey of Your Word, and our hands to touch Your heart for us. Awaken us God, and let us be gripped with an addiction to You. Let us not be able to go a moment without yearning for Your presence. Let us learn to tap into Your presence wherever we are. We want more of You Father. Take us deeper than ever before. Show us something new that we have never seen. We want Your embrace. We want Your hands to engulf us once again. Our hearts our crying out for a new addiction, and we want that addiction to be You.