Hello Family,
THIS WEEK HAS BEEN ROUGH!
I have been struggling with this unspoken loneliness lately. I’m not alone, because the LORD is with me always (Deuteronomy 31:6), but I’ve found myself not wanting to replace the friends I've lost, who I’ve spent most of my time with, with other people or things.
In the past 2 months, I’ve managed to have 2 very valuable friendships of mine end. A lack of boundaries, effective communication, integrity, and transparency are the causes of the relationships ending. What a lot of people fail to talk about is how heartbreaking and devastating it is to lose friends that you heavily relied on for advice, hope, happiness, and inspiration. I was talking to God this morning and realized that I was relying on those two old friends more than I was relying on Him; Idolizing the relationships.
When many people think of “Idols”, celebrities and religious deities come to mind. Rarely do we think of our relationships, prize possessions, jobs, social media, or goals as our gods. If we’re honest, many of the things I've listed have been our modern day idols.
Leviticus 19:4 reads, “‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.”
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Idolatry as the “immoderate attachment or devotion to something”.
Idolatry has an interesting way of stripping our ability to give Jesus the time, love and admiration that is necessary for an intimate relationship with Him.
Jesus knows how hard it is to ‘serve two masters’ and He talked about it in Matthew:
Matthew 6:24 reads “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." (NLT)
Although this message is not centered around money, in the scripture Jesus is shining a light on how the idolatry of money will hinder people. Devotion to anything that is not Jesus will hinder you from experiencing the fullness of what God has for you.
What have you made an idol or god in your life outside of Jesus? What is Jesus calling you to surrender or remove from your life? How has idolatry, if at all, caused you to have a strained relationship with the one true living God?
Keep Exodus 2:30 in mind: “You must not have any other god but me.” (NLT)
I love you & Jesus loves you most! Stay encouraged. Surrender those idols. Stay Fruitful family! #FruitfulFriday #TheFruitfulPlace #StayFruitful #Exodus2:30
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Citation:
“Idolatry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idolatry. Accessed 14 Jan. 2022.
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