I may not see in front of me, But I can see for miles around when I look over my shoulder, and Lord, it`s clear. You`ve brought me here, So faithful every step of the way. What can I do but follow you, For You are the Way, the Truth, the Life, And You`ve promised never to leave me, My Savior, my friend, From beginning to end.
I Am Found In You
by
Steven Curtis Chapman
"Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” Jonah 2:8 NIV
We have identified what idols are this week. In the four part definition shared earlier this week, the last one was “something visible but without substance”. Think about this definition for a moment. Do you remember what Scripture gives us as a definition of faith? Faith is the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. (Hebrews 11:1) Faith is a substance, but an idol has no substance. An idol is seen, but faith is unseen.
This helps us realize that idols are the opposite of our faith. In other words, idols are a replacement for the faith we have in Christ. Instead of trusting in Christ alone, we substitute something else in which to place our trust. When we can’t understand a situation, or we feel that the trials of our life are mounting beyond our ability to endure, we can choose to have faith or we can choose not to have faith. When we choose not to have faith, we are in essence, by definition, placing an idol between us and God.
Does the commandment “thou shalt have no idols” start to take on a bigger meaning? God must have had a reason for the command! Imagine that! There must be some logic behind God’s command to His people.
In today’s verse, Jonah, who ran away from God’s call, was thrown off a ship, and saved in the belly of a fish, gives us advise from personal experience. Jonah had learned that following after your own plan just doesn’t work. Doing it any way other than God’s way makes no sense. Most importantly, when we don’t trust God, turning instead to worthless idols, we forfeit the grace we could receive from God. We miss the experience of God in our lives. We fail to receive the blessings which come from obedience and trust.
I’ve been asking you all week, but I must ask you again; are there any idols in your life? Is there anything to which you are assigning more importance than your relationship to God Himself? Only you and God can answer that question.
Lord, help us to give you first position in everything.
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