We chase the things of God like a drug addict looking for his next high. A drug-addicted person seeks out his supplier in order to get what he craves. We Christian born-again believers are no different. We are addicts. We want the stuff God gives, such as material blessings, ministries, and His favor in our lives. Like the junkie, we want what He dispenses.

The problem lies in the fact that unlike the drug supplier who is dealing out death, God is the giver of life. We, however, are not satisfied with Him alone; we have our eyes and hears set on the rewards.

We are no different from the Israelites in the biblical story of the exodus. After being miraculously brought out of Egypt where they were slaves, God, through Moses promised to bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey. He supplied their every need and sought to establish a relationship with them.
God causing water to gush out of a rock met their cry of thirst. When they were hungry and began to remember the good ole days in Egypt when they sat by the fleshpots and ate until they were filled, God rained down manna from the heaven. When they grew tired of eating manna, God sent them meat (Exodus 16:12).

They, however, never seemed to make the connection between God’s care for them and His provision. They constantly accused Moses and God of bringing them to the wilderness to die. They wanted a God who could fulfill their needs and as soon as He delayed in doing so, they longed to go back to Egypt.
They were not interested in who He was, but only in what He could do. He was a distant someone they could call on almost as though He was obligated to them.

Today, many born-again believers, followers of Jesus Christ, continue to believe and behave like the Israelites. We want the stuff God can give, but are not satisfied with Him alone.

We come looking for the next financial blessing, the next wonderful ministry that awaits us, or the next great thing God is about to do in us, through us, or for us. Do we ever come without an agenda or wish list?

When do we stop treating God like Santa Claus and instead give Him what He desires from us?

God desires praise. He inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). It delights His heart when we call upon Him to simply say, “Thank you, Lord.”
He is moved when He hears our voices lifted up in adoration of Him. He is touched when He (rather than things) is the number-one desire of our hearts.
Can you image a people in love with God and telling Him so? How do you treat the one you love? He longs to hear shouts of praise ascending to His throne. He feels. His heart breaks when he sees a people hungry, not for Him, but for what they can get from Him.

For too long, we have taken Him lightly, forgetting that He is our Source. Without Him, we can do nothing. Praise is the key. We cannot continue to ignore God. We do so at our own expense.

When you praise Him, He comes. And when He comes, so does life!