More Than Anything

“More Than Anything”

By Zach Wood

Psalm 73:25-26 (NLT)

“Whom have I in heaven but you?  I desire you more than anything on earth.
My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.”

Think back to all the years of growing up in your childhood when people asked you what you wanted for your birthday and for Christmas.  Maybe you can think back to many times when you shared how you wanted a toy that had just come out.  Perhaps it was a video game that you couldn’t wait to own.  Whatever it was, you probably spent a lot of time and many days just thinking about it.  No, that isn’t the right word.  You spent many days daydreaming about it.

I think we can all testify to this in our childhood at one point or another.  We had years where we couldn’t wait to get on our hands on a present to see if what we really wanted was behind all that wrapping paper we quickly rip off.  The sheer joy of the mysterious gift, whether it was at Christmas or on our birthday, took hold of us and we just wondered what we might get.

I personally remember many years of excitement of presents and how anticipation built up and I lost sleep just thinking about what might be under the Christmas tree.  As years have gone by, I don’t lose much sleep now and that excitement I had as a child has worn off.  However, I do still enjoy presents!

As I consider the excitement so many people have toward getting gifts, which is a fun thing to witness for sure, I cannot help but think about our anticipation and excitement that we have for God.  God surely wants us to enjoy what we have on this earth, but how often do we build up anticipation for things of this earth more than our desire for God Himself?  That’s a tough one.  Again, He wants us to enjoy what we’ve been given here in this temporary life, but not at the expense of making these things important in themselves.

I am so guilty of not desiring God each day in so many ways.  I say I love Him and even share with others that He means more to me than anything else, but is my life really reflecting that?  Is He really my hope and my strength?  Do I look to no one but Him to provide the strength I need each day?  My health could go up in flames and my spirit may grow weak, so do I long for Him more than anything else in this life that I have on earth?  Do you?

We certainly need to examine whether or not God is ultimately Whom we desire more than anything this world offers.