Today’s podcast is titled.
Hidden Idol
My entire life I have been tasked to give an account, take some manner of inventory, signing for this, accounting for that, and lastly identifying what is missing, that often came at a cost. I recall once searching diligently, for hours, for a piece of equipment, rooms, buildings, sheds, and the like. No matter the mass of resources dedicated to the search, the result was the same. The paperwork said it was there, but reality is the item was missing for a number of years. Likewise, we must take inventory of our lives as well, identifying what is and is not present, what should or should not be there. As we like Achan (in Joshua 7) tend to accumulate things (physical or not) that were not intended for us but take precedence over God.
I had an entirely different message for today, but as I prepared for the day, the Lord laid upon my heart to share something completely different with you this morning, something that none of us, no matter how experienced are excluded.
We move along gracefully, smiling, giving the greeting of the day, a tip of the hat, saying with commonality bless you, and praise God, we read, we pray, we do all in alignment with scripture. Suddenly, we suffer defeat, after defeat, the heavens are as brass, prayer becomes laborious, and no matter our plea (like Joshua [6-9]), nothing. Heaven in all its splendor is suddenly silent. We search high and low, and yet our once abundant stream is barren, a desert wasteland, as far as the eye can see.
God is not far off as we suppose, he is watching, waiting, and listening. But he cannot do anything, because of the idols we have hidden in our lives, amongst the stuff, a buried treasure to be selfishly used, just in case God’s response is delayed, or does not rule in our favor. There are times when we are offered something that for appearance’s sake is helpful, but detrimental to our soul and a hinderance to our salvation. It is a gift, like the renowned Trojan horse, if it remains a hidden within us, God cannot bless us, not while the enemy continues to thrive at our gates. We are pushed further and further away from the leaning of the spirit, he speaks, but we do not hear, he beckons, but we do not answer, because we cling steadfastly to the hidden idols of our lives. To be clear, I am not exclusively or directly speaking purely in reference to tangible items, but more so those we store away in the deepest recesses of our hearts.
