Today was a very tough day. I woke up in a weird mood, and Tom was reacting to it in a defensive way. Things just weren’t going well at all. I could sense the spiritual warfare happening, but I was struggling to get past the “feelings” enough to really deal with it. I did a lot of praying, and the Lord helped us out in a big way!
Yesterday had been amazing at the Acts Bible Study (which is probably why the enemy came swooping in today). We learned so much and were flying high spiritually—so of course, a crash tried to follow. One of the key things Tom identified in his desire to see the power of God in his life was that he was also seeking validation—a confirmation that he was doing what God had called him to do.
During our post-study discussion, someone brought up the verse where Jesus is baptized and the heavens open up. God declares, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17). This happened before Jesus even began His three-year ministry! He was validated before He did anything. Then D added something powerful from Psalm 139:16: “Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”
Praise God—we have already been validated, before the creation of the world! We don’t need to chase validation to know that God is pleased with us.
D also shared another powerful insight from the study: we were created for three main purposes:
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To worship God
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To serve man
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To take authority over the devil
And if we do those out of order, we end up serving the enemy. If we worship men or anything else, we’re misaligned. If we try to “serve” God through doing or works without the right heart, that’s also wrong. And if we try to take authority over people instead of the enemy, we’re off track too. It was so eye-opening to see how easily we get things backward!
This reminded me of a Jason Upton song Tom recently downloaded called “Dying Star.” The lyrics are so powerful:
You've got your best man on the front side
You always show your best side
And evil's always on the other side
You say this is your strategy
But son I hope you take it from me
You look just like your enemy—you're full of prideWe better trash our idols if we want to be
In the army of the Lord
And the greatest idol is you and me
We better get on the threshing floorWhen will we learn that God's strategy
Is giving glory to the Lord?
We better trash our idols if we want to be
In the army of the Lord
That line—“You look just like your enemy—you're full of pride”—hit hard. When we’re out of alignment with what God calls us to do, we can end up reflecting the very thing we’re supposed to be standing against.
Despite all of that, the Lord showed up again today in such a faithful way! We received another unexpected gift—$200! And of course, it came just in time. Tom had a meeting in Cary and wasn’t even sure if he had enough gas to get home. Plus, we still have several overdue bills, so we’re praying about how to wisely use this blessing.
On another note, I’ve been trying to find my old friend S.H. over the last couple of days. I keep hitting a paywall of $9.95 to get her contact info, and it’s been frustrating. I think I’ll just let it go for now and trust that if I’m supposed to reconnect with her, the Lord will make a way.
Oswald Chambers’ Devotional – June 2
Are You Obsessed by Something?
“If a man has the fear of the Lord, the Lord will be his teacher in the way of his pleasure.” – Psalm 25:12
Are you obsessed by something? Most of us would say, “No,” but the truth is—we’re often obsessed with ourselves. Even as Christians, we can be consumed by our own experience of the faith instead of being truly obsessed with God Himself.
The psalmist teaches us that the abiding awareness of the Christian life is to be God—not just thoughts about Him, but His presence saturating our entire being. Just like a child is unconsciously yet deeply aware of their mother, so we are to "live and move and have our being" in Him (Acts 17:28).
If we are obsessed with God, nothing else—no worry, concern, or tribulation—can invade our lives. That’s why Jesus emphasized the sin of worrying. When we are truly rooted in Him, surrounded by Him, we are protected and at peace.
"He himself shall dwell in prosperity..." (Psalm 25:13).
Even in tribulation, misunderstanding, or slander, if our “life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3), we will be at ease, because nothing can break through God’s shelter.
Lord, I want to be “obsessed” by You—so that nothing else can get into my life… no concerns, no worries, no tribulation. Just You.
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