The Magnificent Obsession

The Magnificent Obsession by Ann Graham Lotz is a wonderful book. It was a detailed description of Abraham's faith and his journey of embracing the God-filled life. His example of putting everything aside and trusting in God burns in my heart to know my Heavenly Father and to seek the Magnificent Obsession. Abraham's journey wasn't easy, but so very worth it. To come to the point of giving up his most prized possession, Isaac his son, he had totally embraced the magnificent obsession. He truly 100% trusted in God and in the promises God had given him. Abraham didn't know how things would play out when God asked him to sacrifice his only son, but Abraham had faith in God to trust that God knew what He was doing. In this Abraham's faith became complete. Then to see the parallel of this in what God did for us through His son Jesus. ASTOUNDING!!!!

In the last chapter of the book, this is my longing and my desire described by Ann Graham Lotz.

"Once you have embraced the magnificent obsession for yourself...once you have embraced a truly God-filled life by... leaving everything behind, letting everything go, trusting everything completely, pursuing everything patiently, casting everything out, lifting everything up, laying everything down, mourning everything hopefully. Pass everything on...until your faith becomes sight and you see the only beloved Son of the Father face-to-face. On that day, you are going to see His desire for you as though you're the only one He loves. You will see the delight in His eyes as He takes you into His heavenly tent, and loves you forever and ever. And all that is His will be yours. Because you are His magnificent obsession!"

This is my pursuit for the rest of my life. To know God and to make God known. To pass on the baton of the magnificent obsession to my family and friends. To embrace God completely. Why would I not want that when I am God's magnificent obsession? Each and everyone of us is His magnificent obsession! He gave up His only Son to show us His love for us, us as individuals. Its not a religion, its not a certain group of people, it is for each one of us to have a personal relationship with Him. He sent His son for that reason, to show His unconditional love to each and every person He created. God's desire is that each of us would grasp the magnificent obsession. So I pray that anyone who reads this that God will move in you to seek Him. To put your faith in the cross and to live your life pursuing God, not the things of this world. What we have waiting for us is described in the word of God as this: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him". 1 Corinthians 2:9. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and we pursue the Magnificent Obsession our Spirit within us longs for the things God has in store for us. We long for Heaven, we long to see our maker face to face, we long to be in His presence and to see our faith become our eyes! When this happens it makes what the world has to offer undesirable, because we have fallen so in love with our Heavenly Father that what He has to give us becomes so desirable. Just like in my relationship with Byron, what we have is not good enough, we desire for our relationship to become more. We aren't willing to give into and settle for our relationship to be mediocre. We desire the best for our relationship because not only do we love God, but we love each other unconditionally. We are committed to one another through the best of times and the worst of times. Go sit down with a couple that has been married for 50 years or more and let them share what they have learned through their marriage. I bet that they will talk about the things that worldly possessions couldn't hold a candle to. They will talk about the commitment to each other, the love they shared for one another, the set backs in life, but it comes down to the commitment they made to one another, the trust they have, and the faith that was built because they fully surrendered themselves to one another. When I accepted Jesus as my Savior and I entered into a relationship with my Heavenly Father, I made the commitment to grow in intimacy in my relationship with my Heavenly Father. Just as I have made the commitment to Byron, I made the commitment to my Heavenly Father to be faithful to Him and to forsake all the rest!