Have you ever idolised something, only to find it disappointing in the end?
In the Bible the prophet Isaiah had something to say to the idol-worshipping people of Israel, who’d lost faith in God and been captivated instead by the things they believed could guide them or save them.
He addresses them in chapter 40:25,26 with these words from God:
“To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power.”
God is reminding his people that the objects they ascribe such honour to are simply the things he created. They can’t be compared to him.
Sometimes we become so distracted by the created things that we forget to look up to their Creator.
Matthew Henry described an idol as something we esteem or love, fear or hope in more than God. We might not ‘worship’ it as such – but we allow it a place in our life that is above God. We allow that thing – whether it’s a relationship, career, money, others’ approval, family, power/control, or popularity – more sway over our decision-making than God. Our fear of losing it trumps our fear of losing our relationship with God. That’s what makes it an idol, even though the thing in itself isn’t necessarily bad.
May we bow our knees only to the one who made us, who named us, who calls us his. And turn from worshipping the things which so easily distract us from his incomparable greatness, goodness, and love.
It's a God thing... 
Great post! I enjoyed it, great job.
Thank you, I’m glad!
Appreciate you stopping by to read it 🙂
So true! It is a misconceived notion that we have to literally bow down to something before we can idolize it. Great post! Please follow back 🙂
Yes, idols do take many forms! They can be quite subtle and deceptive can’t they?
Thanks for reading!
Amen! We chase after idols because we think they can fill us, but they all turn out to be empty in the end. Slowly (oh so slowly!) we learn to put God first, the only One who can and will fill us to overflowing! God bless, thank you for a wonderful post!
Yes! So true christrocks. When we really put him first we start to realise our hearts are full and complete in a way they could never be with another relationship or idol of any kind.
Absolutely! 🙂 By the way, if you’d like to you can call me Christy now. I linked to my Google+ account a while back, so there’s not much point going by christrocks unless you prefer that. 😉 God bless!
OK, thanks Christy! 🙂
It so easy to think that I don’t have any idols in my life, but it’s a little trickier than that and I need to stay before Him to show me what I’ m trusting in more than Him , day by day! Thank you, Ali!
Yes, we often convince ourselves we aren’t putting anything before our relationship with God, but it’s so easy for the desire for other things to slowly creep in. Thankfully he is always merciful and will pull us back into his arms.
Colossians 3:1-2 also comes to mind when I read this one. 🙂 Great post, my friend.
Those are great verses Brian! Yes. May we keep setting our minds on things above rather than the things which will ultimately fail us.
I wish I could say there are no idols in my life, but if I’m honest, there are many distractions that interfere in my relationship with God.
Yeah, we only uncover our idols when we dig deep and examine our hearts. It’s so complex isn’t it? So thankful that God keeps pulling us back into his arms…