We often fail to see the disguised idols in our lives. Wrapped up in pretty packages. Engrained into our everyday. An idol is anything…seriously, anything…that takes precedence in our lives before God. When someone or something steals precedence in our hearts and becomes No. 1., hello world, we have an idol. Webster defines idol as anything that is greatly loved, revered, or admired. Idols often go by unnoticed because they are not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, they often are very good things in and of themselves. For example, children are called a “gift from God.” However, when our children become our top priority, when our primary focus is centered on their well-being, when we cave to their every whim, and we allow our heart to love them more than we love God, we better be careful of the hot stones we are walking on. You can readily see how easy we abandon our first love for God and turn our attention to our physical world. It is much easier to love the things we can touch with our hands and see with our own two eyes.
Idols are easily justifiable. Everyone else is doing it. It’s not that big of deal. I have it under control. I could stop tomorrow if I wanted. It’s just a little sin, God doesn’t care. However, when we excuse away our sin, we are taking the work that Jesus performed on the cross for granted. Sin, no matter the shape or size, is still sin. From God’s perspective, all sin, any sin, every sin and today’s sin is a big deal.
God was stripping me of the things of this world, so I would turn my attention to Him.
Sin is messy, and God was wrecking me. I am forever grateful because my eyes were being opened to see me more clearly. A sinner saved by grace. A girl truly needing a Savior. James 1:4 reminds us to “let steadfastness have its full effect.” God can use the storms of this life to rock our boat in order to see we need to be anchored deeply in Him. He is the only things that really matters. He desires to be our everything. God’s methods of opening our eyes to see ourselves for who we really are is quite gut-wrenching. Sin is ugly, and there is no other way around it.
When we catch a glimpse of our ugliness, we are amazingly humbled to see the glory of God in a brand new light. When our eyes are opened to the horror within and instead, turned to the hope of glory, God is at work. When we see ourselves as sinners deserving to die, and recognize our need for a Savior…Wow, that’s an incredible, humbling, eye opening, awe-inspiring kind of day! When we yield to the wilderness and surrender to God, we are allowing steadfastness to have its full effect.