God preformed a little surgery on me at church this week, in a loving way of course! I left feeling challenged and needing to process. Let me share.
What is your idol? No, I’m not talking about the statues made of stone or wood. I’m talking about the idols that we give our allegiance to; the object or needed feeling that we become worshippers of.
They [idols] rule our every thought, motive and action. They prevent us from experiencing TRUE WORSHIP which can only come from God alone.
Identifying the idols in your life so that you can “displace” them is difficult. We are often deceived into thinking that our desires are justified or good in nature. In many cases, our idols come from the opposite of our fears. For example:
| Fear of … | Idol is … |
| Uncertainty or unpredictability | Need for Control |
| Rejection | Need for Acceptance |
| Being overlooked or forgotten | Need for Recognition |
| Being hungry | Need for Food |
| Hard work, and getting dirty | Need for a Perfect Outside Appearance |
| Losing your savings, or being poor | Need for Money |
| Being thought of as weak | Need for Power |
| Becoming a burden to others | Need for Independence |
| Being Vulnerable | Need to portray you ‘have it all together.' |
| Failure | Need for success |
The list could go on …
I don’t want to be like the woman at the well in John 4, who drinks the water that continually causes her to thirst even more. She has been a worshipper all her life, but not in things that have left her feeling satisfied or fulfilled. If I continually allow my desire for control, independence, or portraying the ‘I have it all together’ impression, get in the way, I will be left feeling thirsty just like the woman at the well, and never experience true worship.
This preparation process of my World Race journey has exposed me to many of these idols that I have allowed myself to be conquered by at times. I’ve recognized them as struggles in the past, but actually acknowledging them as an idol, that prevents me from experiencing and engaging in true worship with my Heavenly Father is half the battle. Breaking down the ‘high places’ in our lives is not a monthly thing, not even a weekly thing … but rather a daily or sometimes even hourly occurrence.
I don’t want to just be a worshipper of something or someone, but rather, I want to experience true worship with my Heavenly Father. True worship comes from recognizing, resonating and then reacting to God’s worth. Not just on Sunday morning’s in church either, but on a daily basis through the mundane, routine tasks of each and every day.
No longer do I want these idols to be a big, focal point that control my mind, heart and actions, but rather, I want my daily focus found by involving my mind, heart, and actions in experiencing and engaging in TRUE WORSHIP. As Jesus answered the woman at the well in John 4:14, I want to drink the water that Jesus provides that will never leave me thirsty again and “…will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
No matter how hard we try, there is no idol that can or will fill the voids in our life. BUT, God is knocking and waiting for us to answer the door of our hearts and engage with Him in response to His worth. Will you reciprocate and “do everything for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31)?
“… Lord I give you my heart, I give you my soul, I live for you alone. Every breath that I take, every moment I'm awake, Lord have Your way in me … This is my desire, to honor you; Lord, with all my heart I worship you. All I have within me I give You praise, all that I adore is in you …“
