"They worshipped worthless idols and became worthless themselves..."
Jeremiah 2:5
The truth is, I have a lot of practice in idolatry and therefore am great at making things idols.
I have spent most of my life worshipping myself--in the many forms in which self worship comes-- pursuing beauty, intelligence, comfort, and more than anything acceptance. None of these things are bad in themselves--after all, God made them-- but put them before God and they are idols. They are not "little idols" or "barely idols" or "everyone has them so they're ok...idols". They are idols, of which God says:
"you shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God"
-Exodus 20:5
The problem is....I have soooo much practice in idolatry and practice truly does make perfect...or in this case, problems. I make the very best things in my life idols... and as long as God continues to love me, he will continue to destroy these things until I turn back to him, every time.
So the question is...when will I stop making the good gifts God puts in my life idols?
I get a lot of comfort and also fear from the Old Testament on this subject. The Israelites continually pursue idols time and time again, and God absolutely DESTROYS them time and time again for the sole purpose of turning them back to himself. In Jeremiah's letter to the surviving Israelites that God had allowed to be taken captive by the Babylonians for 70 years before the exile was even over he says:
"For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you...."
-Jeremiah 29:10-14
The problem with my heart is that usually when I see these verses my first reaction is to look forward to God restoring my "fortunes" and "gather(ing) [me] from all the nations and all the places where [He] has driven [me]" instead of looking forward to a less adulterous heart. I like my idols and I want them back as soon as possible, but
"What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?"
-Matthew 16:26
Think God only takes idols serious in the Old Testament?
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple"
-Luke 14:26
"As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and it proves unfruitful"
-Matthew 13:22
-Matthew 16-30 (The rich young man)
Please pray for me and hold me accountable for the idols you see in my life. let me know how I can pray for you.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Desires of a Deceitful Heart
"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart"
~Psalm 37:4
I find this verse really interesting because the fact is...
"The heart is deceitful about all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?"
Jeremiah 9:17
So, why would God EVER give me the desires of my HEART? My heart is DECEITFUL (not to mention desperately sick).
I guess this is why I like this verse so much. It's not because I think that if I love God enough I will get a 4.0, have the perfect job, the perfect husband, and everything I ever wanted... (the prosperity gospel isn't all it's cracked up to be)
I think it's because this verse shows me there is hope for my heart.
I see this already in my life, as the things I dream about now-a-days are drastically different (and substantially less comfortable and self-serving) than those dreams I had before I knew Jesus, but there are still some--rogue desires. So often my heart desires things not of God, not necessarily bad things, but just things that maybe aren't in God's plan for me right now. And yeah, my heart is deceitful. It tells me that I need these things now, that I don't need to trust God and (heaven forbid) wait for things.
But this verse tells me that there is hope for my deceitful heart...to continually delight myself in the LORD. The hope that I speak of is not that I'll suddenly receive these desires that are my own, but that in me constantly delighting in the things of God, and seeking HIS will for my life, that he will continue to change ALL of my desires into what HE desires for my life so that eventually I will no longer even want these other things if it is not HIS will.
This is comforting, because there is satisfaction there. A lot of times I think people are turned off by Jesus because they don't think they'll like the way their lives will look if they follow him...but that's not what scripture teaches. God tells us to seek him first and foremost and the more we do that the more our desires (what we actually WANT) will be shaped by what God has specifically for us...not just some vague "I am supposed to only want Jesus, so that's what I want" attitude, but we will desire specifically what God has for us in that point in our life (whether it's to form more Godly friendships, disciple younger believers, go to a foreign land to tell people about God, settle down and have babies and raise them in a Godly manner). God will give us desires for Him first and foremost but also for the good things he has created for us to do for him, at the right times in our lives.
So this is convicting for me, because as I think I said earlier, I so much of the time have desires that aren't being shaped by God and instead of giving them to God, I feed them by wondering, well, exactly why they aren't in the plan for my life right now and how I could make them be part of the plan instead of being content with what God has given me in this season of my life.
Help me to delight in you, father, all my days, that I may desire only what you have for me when you have it for me.
~Psalm 37:4
I find this verse really interesting because the fact is...
"The heart is deceitful about all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?"
Jeremiah 9:17
So, why would God EVER give me the desires of my HEART? My heart is DECEITFUL (not to mention desperately sick).
I guess this is why I like this verse so much. It's not because I think that if I love God enough I will get a 4.0, have the perfect job, the perfect husband, and everything I ever wanted... (the prosperity gospel isn't all it's cracked up to be)
I think it's because this verse shows me there is hope for my heart.
I see this already in my life, as the things I dream about now-a-days are drastically different (and substantially less comfortable and self-serving) than those dreams I had before I knew Jesus, but there are still some--rogue desires. So often my heart desires things not of God, not necessarily bad things, but just things that maybe aren't in God's plan for me right now. And yeah, my heart is deceitful. It tells me that I need these things now, that I don't need to trust God and (heaven forbid) wait for things.
But this verse tells me that there is hope for my deceitful heart...to continually delight myself in the LORD. The hope that I speak of is not that I'll suddenly receive these desires that are my own, but that in me constantly delighting in the things of God, and seeking HIS will for my life, that he will continue to change ALL of my desires into what HE desires for my life so that eventually I will no longer even want these other things if it is not HIS will.
This is comforting, because there is satisfaction there. A lot of times I think people are turned off by Jesus because they don't think they'll like the way their lives will look if they follow him...but that's not what scripture teaches. God tells us to seek him first and foremost and the more we do that the more our desires (what we actually WANT) will be shaped by what God has specifically for us...not just some vague "I am supposed to only want Jesus, so that's what I want" attitude, but we will desire specifically what God has for us in that point in our life (whether it's to form more Godly friendships, disciple younger believers, go to a foreign land to tell people about God, settle down and have babies and raise them in a Godly manner). God will give us desires for Him first and foremost but also for the good things he has created for us to do for him, at the right times in our lives.
So this is convicting for me, because as I think I said earlier, I so much of the time have desires that aren't being shaped by God and instead of giving them to God, I feed them by wondering, well, exactly why they aren't in the plan for my life right now and how I could make them be part of the plan instead of being content with what God has given me in this season of my life.
Help me to delight in you, father, all my days, that I may desire only what you have for me when you have it for me.
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