Now, back to the questions I posed to God earlier.
What? Me? Idols? No way!”
Yes, Me!
Idols come in all shapes and sizes. They come in all colors and at all
costs. Idols come and go. They are named and nameless. They can be people,
possessions, and ideals. They can make us happy, miserable, or a combination of
both. No matter what the idol, it will keep you from all that God desires for
you.
God showed me that
the idols in my life were things I truly thought he would honor. My marriage,
my husband, my witness, my children, friendships… the list went on and on. Yes,
God does honor my marriage, but he will not tolerate it coming before my
worship of him. He wants me to cherish my children, but not at the expense of
time with Him first. My witness is ineffective if I’m not living for God first.
Idolatry is defined as “blind or excessive devotion to something” (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/idolatry)
I was idolizing
and didn’t even know it! Blindly devoted!
He showed me that
my idols came in the form of negative things also. My own hurts or fears could
consume me for hours even days on end. I would hand them over to God only to
take them back and wallow in them. They became my ‘god’ because they were my
focus.
As I finished this
week of wrestling with God I felt he spoke 5 words to me…
Conceal, Reveal,
Deal, Heal, Seal!
My sin was concealed. I was blind to it. But God
wanted to reveal it to me so he could
help me deal with it. Now I can begin
the process of letting him heal me.
He now has his seal on me… I am his
and there is no turning back! Oh, yes, I still have to allow God to take inventory and realign my heart everyday. But now that I'm aware of my tendencies, I can be more careful not to place these idols back on the throne of my heart.
Gods at War by Kyle Idleman is an excellent resource to help reveal the gods in your life. I highly recommend that you read it!
An idol that took me years to give up was my sin. I was so consumed by my past sin and my inability to forgive myself that it kept me from God. I wasn't still doing the sin but the shame of it consumed me. It always reminded me of who I was and where I had been. When I tried to spend time with God I just couldn't get past what I had done so it took precedence over my God. I served my sin and worshiped my sin by thinking of it daily. I allowed it to take me to my past over and over. It wasn't until I could forgive myself completely and accept God's forgiveness that I could let that one go. You are right, they don't have to be big statues or movie stars, idols are parts of our everyday that over time get pushed up to the top of our priority list. That being said, none of us are alone! We all have idols and issues that take our focus off of God. We should be working together to help each other lay those at the feet of God! Find a friend who you can trust and discuss the things that may be idols in your life! One by one, if we are willing, God will help us tear down our idols!
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