I'd found myself in all too familiar place. Discontentment plagued my soul. Unsatisfied hunger filled my heart. Nothing was really even wrong in my life. What changed?
I cried out to God knowing that something was wrong in my heart, and then He began showing me what was wrong.
I had made myself an idol.
No, I didn't go out and carve some wood to make an idol to worship. I didn't bow down (so to speak) to a statue. However, I'd made one of the gifts God gave me into an idol by making it more of a priority in my life than God.
What became my idol was one of my friendships.
Slowly but surely, I began looking to my friend to fill the God-shaped hole inside of me, and I watched that begin this downhill spiral of me focusing on the question, "What about me?" The cry of my heart was, "Fill me! Talk to me! Me... me... me..."
The sermon series at church has been talking about Jesus being the living water. They've talked about the fresh water we can drink that actually satisfies, but also the salty water that actually makes you more and more thirsty. I saw this to be true in my own life when I was trying to fill that hole in my heart with my friend instead of with God Himself. I was never satisfied, and I kept craving someone to pour more and more into me rather than being a flowing stream that God could use to flow onto others.
We can make idols out of many, many things. Most of the things in and of themselves can actually start out being really good things. Careers, relationships, children, a spouse, a hobby... but if we take those wonderful things out of their rightful place and set them up in our hearts as being more of a priority than God... we've just created an idol to worship.
Last night, God impressed upon my heart that oftentimes He does work through people. God has certainly blessed my life with my friend. However, the problem comes when we forget that God is still the One filling our hearts. The same is true with our jobs. Yes, our jobs create a way for us to have the money we need to survive, but God is the One Who gave us that job, and if it is taken away, God is still our Provider.
The key is to keep God as our number 1. We must be careful to keep Him in His rightful place and not allow the blessings He provides to become our idols. Then instead of those blessings turning into idols we are never satisfied with because they can't fill us, they remain blessings that we can be grateful for.
Dear Jesus,
I'm so thankful that You revealed to me that I had turned one of Your blessings into an idol. Help me to not allow anything to take Your place in my heart. Keep my eyes fixed on You, and then I can be free to enjoy the blessings You've given me. In Jesus' Name.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment