“The righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.”
Psalm 34:19
Idolatry in my life has been steadily losing ground. Ever since learning that concise definition of an idol (whatever I demand to make me happy), the Lord has been pointing out one idol after another. The first one was the “need” to be on time to everything, followed by the “need” to look good in what I did, and it went on from there.
The best antidote to idolatry is knowing God better—no idol comes across well in His presence! This month while re-memorizing and meditating on Psalm 33, the rich depth of God’s character stood out clearly: “The word of the Lord is right and true, he is faithful in all he does… let all the people of the world revere him, for he spoke and it came to be…the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love” (Ps. 33:4,8,9,18).
Standing in the presence of such heavenly light frees me from the clinging, whining manipulation of the idols of my soul, and sweeps me up into the joy He bought for us: “In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name” (Ps. 33:21).
Lord, you are an active God, a caring God, a powerful God, a delivering God. I praise you for what you are doing in my life, delivering me from many troubles, including my idols. You transform each difficulty into an opportunity to see you at work, to trust you, to rest in you.
Each thing we do is an adventure with you, a chance to do what is fine and right and good. I give you honor for your wisdom, your care, your grace, your active, intimate, incisive, positively invasive interaction with us, your children, in all things of life. You are good and I praise you for it.
Prayer: “Help me to be alert to your pointing out idols in my life; help me to quickly abandon them and to run to you, the God who delivers. Help me to see each problem as a potential-filled adventure with you. Amen.”
