When you put your hope and trust in the provision rather than the provider, you lose your ability to be happy. It is a dependency on God that provides true happiness, and yet we still cling to the small idols in our life and allow them to cast shadows that steal our joy. When we trust man-made promises, marketing ploys, consumerism and people over our own Creator, we end up paying a heavy cost. All of those things are empty. They can not bring true happiness. Instead, they will disappoint and leave us feeling empty and alone.
Small steps and little idols
Small things become large over time. The little parts of us we give away today slowly chip away at who we are. Anything that we elevate over God is an idol and leads us toward a downward spiral.
Knowing that small steps lead to big accomplishments is comforting when we are pursuing a well-established goal. But what about the times we make small poor choices time and time again? The same is true. One step at a time leads us either toward or away from God.
Here are four simple questions you can ask to identify what little idols are holding you back.
Even big shadows disappear in the light
No matter how big a grasp your idols have on you, know that God’s grace is bigger. Today’s the day you can take a step in the right direction.
John 1:3-5 (MSG) says of God,
“Everything was created through him;
nothing — not one thing! —
came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn’t put it out.”
There is nowhere that the light of God can not cut through the darkness. No matter how far down the wrong path you may have traveled, God is ready and waiting for you. I haven’t listed idols because truly there is no ranking. Anything that drives a distance between you and your Creator, anything that you hold up as more valuable, anything that you would choose over God, that is an idol. We all have one that we go back to again and again, “as a dog eats its own vomit” (Proverbs 26:11 MSG). And still, God is faithful.
“I’m absolutely convinced that nothing — nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable — absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us” (Romans 8:38-39 MSG).
God’s waiting with open arms. It’s time to cast off the lies of idols and embrace fully the joy of God.
If you are wondering what it means to authentically follow Jesus and dive into hard questions as you investigate Jesus, join us on Unfiltered Radio.