Psalm 135:15-18 "The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, The work of man's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; they have eyes, but they do not see; they have ears , but they do not hear; nor is there any breath at all in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, yes, everyone who trusts in them."
Are the idols of our nation the "American Dream?" Do we idolize the way life should be and turn our backs on God when our "dreams" for ourselves don't turn out the way we want them to? What is the definition of idolatry? Well the simplest definition is that idolatry is the pursuit of what you consider most important. We tend to go after these things with our whole being and we will do whatever it takes to get what we want. We can idolize money, houses, cars, technology (and the use of it!), acceptance, dreams, and even our families! If you want to find out what is most important to you, sit down and look at your life and see what you spend the most time on. Look at what you do to get what you want. Is God sitting on the throne of your life or is something else?
Even our dreams of the way we thought our life would go can become most important and take our eyes off of the Lord. Perhaps you are going through something difficult: illness, job loss, loss of a loved one, financial distress, broken dreams for your family or your children. Some of us are very adept at trying to control our lives, but there comes a time when we can't control everything anymore, when something comes along that is just plain "out of our control". If you are in the midst of a situation like that consider this quote from C.S. Lewis:
"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our circumstance, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
And this quote from Pete Wilson's new book Plan B, "We must be willing, if necessary, to abandon the life we've planned and dreamed of in order to receive the life that our God has authored for us."
You may not be able to choose everything that happens in your life. It's just not in your control, but you can choose how you respond to these circumstances.
Job 42:5 says, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You." Sometimes it takes adversity or a long journey in a different direction for us to see who God really is. If we have other things sitting on the throne of our lives (including ourselves), we may need to stop pursuing all those other things and turn our eyes upon Jesus. We may need to yield to our journey and keep our eyes fixed on Him.
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:1-3
Dear Lord, Teach us to keep our eyes fixed on You, the author and perfecter of faith. Help us to take down all of the other idols that we have set up in our lives including the idol of how we think life should be, and make us into the people You want us to be. Let us pursue You with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Help us to remember that even though we will have trouble in this world, You have overcome the world.
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