OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
1 John 5:21 “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”
Have you ever noticed how disappointments can take on a life of their own? I think of young women I’ve counseled who have had bad breakups with their boyfriends. Their disappointment pushes them into a kind of fantasy land. The more they dwell on the relationship loss, the more exaggerated the good qualities of the ex-boyfriend become until the guy they imagine bears little resemblance to reality.
But disappointments like this are not reserved for relationships only. My recent plans to spend a few days alone with God to write, study and pray fell through when the cottage where I planned to stay became unavailable. At first, the disappointment felt overwhelming. I had written the greater portion of both my books there and experienced the sweet presence of the Lord in almost palpable ways. How could it be his will for me not to go back?
While praying, I read from Oswald Chambers. “If we try to re-introduce the rare moments of inspiration, it is a sign that it is not God we want. We are making a fetish of the moments when God did come and speak and insisting that He must do it again; whereas what God wants us to do is to live by faith.” I had to ask myself if I wanted to be where God was or where I wanted him to be. I had planned going away to spend time with him, but if he was closing the door, then why would I still want to go? The last thing I desired was to corrupt my time at Lakeside by turning it into an idol.
So I let go. It was a teachable moment.
The Israelites were condemned for their idolatry. They gave human characteristics to images of wood and stone. In one of the last writings of the Apostle John, he warned believers to keep themselves from idols. He knew our human tendency was to corrupt the good gifts of God by infusing them with our own imaginations.
If your disappointments are paralyzing you from moving forward, stop giving them life they were never intended to have. Ask Jesus to help you resist the lure of idolatry. Then trust him and, as Chambers says, “live by faith.” What he has for us is far better than anything we can imagine.