Idols. Those man made objects, those goals, those people we place in the center of our life and fall down in worship to. I don’t believe we always realize we have removed our Abba God from the throne. We just keep putting other people and things on that throne with Him until there is no room for Him. Father is pushed off.

I have to confess I had no idea I was an idol worshipper. I LOVE Father God. I ADORE our Jesus. I would be LOST without Holy Spirit. I always condemned in the biggest way those Israelites that were always hiding idols in their baggage when they moved from one country to the next.

My mental picture of myself on this dirt road life is simple. Plain work clothes. A hat to shade from the sun. Good shoes. A small backpack. No unnecessary items. Nothing extra to carry. Nothing that would be dead weight or unneeded. So when did I realize that I, like the Israelites, had packed idols?

The first story was Rachel. When she left home she took the household idols. Then, when the Israelites left Egypt, they took the idols of Egypt with them. Amos 5:25-26 says so. They had God doing all these miracles yet they carried idols? I won’t even talk about that golden calf Aaron made.

So it seems we can be worshipping the true and living God…yet we are hiding idols. I think I just renamed my idols. They were hopes, dreams, goals, family…yet the time, attention and work I put toward them elevated their importance in my life. Father God was moved over on the throne and other things and people were sitting there with Him.

This was a hard moment for me. I was broken. I was reading the Word daily. I have my morning prayer time. What in the world???

For me, I was not paying close attention. I was not guarding my heart closely enough. It wasn’t as if I had left my Father…I’d just added all these other things I wanted to accomplish. Shame on me.

But isn’t it the most glorious thing? When our hearts are broken with our sinful nature, we can run to Father God…confess our sin and failure… and He scoops us up in His arms and completely forgives and restores.

I’m making a real effort to guard this old heart. I’m not going to pack any more idols in that backpack I see myself carrying. They are too heavy to take with me. I’m going to walk my dirt road with a lighter load.

“Little children, guard yourselves from idols.” 1John 5:21 NASB