Third revisit of “Guard your heart with all diligence”

   “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Ex. 15:11

We laugh at the ignorance of the ancients who would bow down and worship idols of wood or stone, but in fact there are many modern idols. An idol is anything that takes the place of God anything, or anyone in whom we put our absolute trust. In preparing for next week’s boundaries study, I came across this paragraph:-

Though we certainly need each other, no one but God is indispensable. When a conflict with one significant person can bring us to despair, it is possible that we putting that person on the throne that should only be occupied by God.

This can start off innocently enough, for example if we are not married we may dream about a spouse who will meet our every need. But that spouse will have needs of his or her own. In another scenario, in talking to the men in the prison, it is common for one or other of them to tell me that his higher power (as in AA) is his mother. I ask them “What will you do when she dies?” In both cases, the person is in grave danger of idolatry. And these kinds of unrealistic expectations set us up for heartbreak! When we look to another person in this way, even if that person is ourselves we will, sooner or later be let down.

In fact God is the only one who can fulfill the deepest needs of our hearts, and we fail to guard our hearts, if we look to anyone or anything other than Him to do this. On the other hand, especially after we have been deeply hurt, we can be so cautious that we never trust anybody at all. We may think of this as guarding our hearts, but actually it is to impoverish our hearts, because like it or not, we do need each other. He made us this way! It is not good for a man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). It’s hard at times to get this in balance.

Father, there is none like You among the gods (the false things I have trusted in). You alone are faithful and You alone are true. When I surrender all and put my trust in You I can be sure, according to Your Word, that You will bring me the people and things in my life that will bring the fullness You have promised. I choose to believe it, in Jesus name Amen