Possession and Ownership

19 Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau,
    and those of the Shephelah shall possess the land of the Philistines;
they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria,
    and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 The exiles of this host of the people of Israel
    shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath,
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
    shall possess the cities of the Negeb.
21 Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion
    to rule Mount Esau,    and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.
(Obadiah 1:19-21)
As the prophets spoke of the just judgment of the Lord - especially when it came to the exile, their eyes were often on restoration of the Promised land to the tribes of Israel.  They were promised that they would regain possession of the Land from those who had come in and taken it away, while they had been taken away from the land.  Section by section, Obadiah shares how God would restore the land as their possession. But the bottom line is always this: ownership belongs to the LORD. He made it all and gives it all, but ultimately owns it all.  Thus it is with all of life. Often we forget that. We struggle through life trying to get possession - not only of land, but stuff, and time, and choices - of life itself.  In the midst of this struggle we often begin to view it all as our own, and get ourselves into trouble.  It is only when we view it all as His, as gifts that He entrusts to us, and as possessions, time and life to use for His glory, that we will understand, appreciate and enjoy what He gives.  May we use all He gives us today - including our time, energy, thinking, and voices - to bring Him Glory.