What are your idols; what are you holding onto?

During the early hours of this morning I seemed to be in a light sleep and was singing a Cece Winans’ song, “I have a Savior.” Beautiful song, if you don’t know it check it out for yourself, the lyrics of the chorus is definitely my hearts desire. Whilst singing that song in my head, the Spirit of the Lord put a word in my heart and he said “look up to Jesus not just for provisions but to seek him with all our hearts, not partially. Give up all you think you should hold on to and yield to the Savior, trust that he has it all figured out.” At that moment, I jumped out of my sleep, took my phone and typed all that I heard. I knew he wanted me to use what he said for this blog.

I went back to sleep, still worshipping the Lord with the song in my head and He continued with the word “therefore, the Lord is speaking about his misgivings with us. Give it to Him!” Again, I did the same thing - picked up my phone and typed what I heard.

Later this morning, I woke up and picked up my bible as I usually would and came across a scripture in Philippians 3:19-20 ‘whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame - who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.’

I’m going to ask you a question, and be true to yourself - what is an idol(s) in your life, or to ask in another way, what is it that you are holding on to that is prohibiting you from giving your all to the Lord?

Biblically idols mean: Idols are worshipped by bending down ‘…and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.’ Daniel 5:4. This could look like a reverence for a statue or a person other than God.

Today, our idols could look like the TV and the several hours we spend in front of it rather than spending time with Him; it could look like the busying yourself with daily things of life, and not making Him a priority; it could even look like where we prioritise our spouse and/or children above God; it could be the countless of hours scrolling through your phone; your employment or status; maybe spending habits (covetousness); or spending time on the phone gossiping about people; or that person you’re seeing that you know you shouldn’t; porn addiction and anything else of that nature; maybe your holding onto the worries and cares of your situation - idols could be anything that you put your trust in or spend more time in, than your time in God.

Gaming is an idol for me, so much so that I recall a time when I was playing Candy Crush for several hours, and spent money on it so I could get to the next level! Beating my opponents to reach the next level was the priority, and it took all the attention I would have directed to the Lord. There was a moment, I knew when I went too far and realised how much I had made this game an idol - I had to repent and ask God to forgive me. Now some of you may think this was a ridiculous thing to be addicted too, but if you think about the things in your life that takes all your attention from God, I suppose you’ll soon realise it is easy to make something a priority over spending time with Him.

Now I am not saying it is a sin to play games, but it can be when you are seeking to spend time with something that is man made, rather than spend time with the one who made man!

Let’s talk about the Israelites (you’ll notice I’ll refer to them a lot in my posts, because they are a depiction of who we are today!) - initially, they were in Egypt and was surrounded by a lot of pagan worshipping, some may have participated in this, because they were a product of their environment (although they cried out to God because of their suffering). God sent Moses to rescue them from the hands of Pharaoh, freeing them from brutality and abuse. Fast forward to when they left Egypt; the Israelites are with Aaron (Moses’ brother) as Moses sought to be with the Lord on Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights. During this time we see the Israelites begin to be impatient - Moses was taking too long. Their impatience drove them to make other gods to which Aaron obliged and created a golden calf. They soon forgot all the miracles God had showed them and proclaimed this to be their “god” that brought them out of Egypt (Exodus 32).

For those that know the Lord for their self, we can all agree that we serve a good God, that he always makes a way, no matter how difficult the situation is. He is a way maker, a miracle worker, a provider, he has shown himself to be real in each of our lives. What is stopping you from giving him your entire heart? Is that thing really worth holding on to? Have you really forgotten all that the Lord has shown you? The bible says in Mark 13:31 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” Therefore, if we know that this is a fleeting world - if we know that the very thing(s) we are holding on to will disappear, is it really worth losing your soul over?

In the post Holding on to the Faithfulness of God, you’ll see what I lost, and as I mentioned, had I known what I would lose I probably would have stayed on the peripheral - thank God I didn’t. He has taught me in the last year what it means to trust and depend on Him. Now, I don’t always get it right, but my wanting to know him through all the mess, gave me the desire to draw close to Him. I’m not perfect by no means, everyday I try to commit my self wants and desires to the Lord, I have to pick up my cross daily and follow Him (Luke 9:23), but it’s worth doing, then losing my soul (Luke 9:24).

The bible tells us to draw near to Him and he will draw near to us, James 4:8 ‘Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.’

So, who stops us from pursuing God? We do - we allow the things, the wants, the hangups from drawing close to God - hence why we have idols in our lives. 

Exodus 34:14 ‘(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God).’

Is God important enough to make him a priority in your life and to trust him with everything so he can make all things right? He has shown us so much of who he is already, don’t upset the Lord, don’t grieve the Holy Spirit, let’s not cause the Lord to have any issues with us! Revelations 2:4 - 6 ‘nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from it’s place - unless you repent.’ Amen x