Craving God

Paul said, "All things are lawful unto me, but I will not be brought  under the power of any."  I Cor. 6:12  There is a power in addiction that is hard to break.  No matter what your mind is telling you, no matter how much your conscience is screaming, your body begins to crave the relief of one more moment of surrender to the drug, or the drink, or the baked fudge.  We live in an addictive and addicted world.  We are constantly bombarded with sights, sounds, and sensations that tug on our flesh and seduce our hearts drawing us into the quicksand of spiritual bondage.  Drugs, alchohol, pornography, promiscuity, gambling all send out their siren call.  More socially acceptable, yet just as addictive, television, internet, social networking sites, career pursuits, materialism, sports and leisure all clamor for our attention and once they have it, they slowly wrap their tentacles around our hearts and suck the spiritual passion out of us.  In I Cor. 16:15, Paul talks about the house of Stephanas, and how they had addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints.  David spoke of his soul following hard after God, of panting after Him.  What would it look like in our lives if we were addicted to God, if the cravings of our hearts were for a deeper walk with Him, if we couldn't bear to be apart from Him for an hour?  What if the first thing that we thought of when we woke up in the morning was God and His Word?  What if the first question we asked any time we faced a decision was, "What will God think about this?"  I hear Christians talk about their hobbies, their sports teams, their favorite TV shows or movie series like the outcome of these things will determine whether they are going to be happy in their daily lives.  The Bible promises us that if we will delight in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our hearts.  So let me ask you, Do you hunger and thirst after righteousness?  Do you crave intimacy with God?  Does a day without time spent in His Word leave you shaky and weak, hungering for another opportunity to hear from him?  If not, then maybe you are addicted to the wrong things.  Maybe we all need to examine our hearts and determine which of the many things that have begun to clutter our lives have begun to rule us.  Then we need to pursue that intimate walk with God that is the only way to true happiness and satisfaction.