Tears streamed down my face beneath the veil of black sunglasses as the Holy Spirit invaded my heart on a mission: to take captive and destroy the idol well on its way to becoming more precious to me than my King Jesus.
I am so weak. In times like these the Lord reminds me of just how powerless I am.
God blesses me in countless ways, but rather than giving those blessings back to Him for His namesake, I allow those blessings to posses my heart - over time diluting whatever glory they were designed to bring the Lord.
I felt a war waging in my soul as my flesh fought with all its strength to hold tight to my idol I have found such temporary delight in. But there is none like Jesus.
Almost as if someone slammed into my chest, inevitably knocking the wind out of me, I felt my Strong Tower demolish the walls I have been building around my idol, higher and higher, as if to hide it from the eyes of God and protect it from His cleansing power.
"He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; He brings light to the deepest gloom... What He destroys cannot be rebuilt." -Job 12:22, 14
Scripture says, for those of us whom Christ has redeemed, He has called us out of the darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).
So let us live in the light!
Easier said than done. As we walk in the flesh through a world of darkness we crave the things this world has to offer. Not only do we crave them, but we cling tightly to these idols.
But for those of us who have been redeemed, Christ has called us to walk in the freedom and power of His Spirit.
It has been easy for me to assume that if I seek to walk in the Spirit, then I will not bow down to idols. Oh, but how pride does come before the fall!
So how do we not fall prey to our idols? How do we not return to our wicked ways? How do we not be like dogs who return to their own vomit (2 Peter 2:22)?
Scripture instructs us to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness. As followers of Christ, we are to hate what is evil and cling to what is good. But how do we do that?
I cannot tell you how to live in the light of Christ today. However, I can share with you how Jesus is leading me to live in His light on this day.
1. Allow Him to shine His light in the darkness I tend to gravitate toward.
2. Welcome His destruction of anything and everything competing for His absolute reign in my life.
3. Be willing to endure the pain of His purification.
4. Faithfully anticipate and receive His restoration.
5. Pray. In my waking and my sleeping, in my gladness and my weeping, let everything I am come before the Father in prayer, submission and praise.
While reading a novel beside the Florida waters this morning, the Spirit had me write this honest and vulnerable prayer in the margins:
"Father, help me to let go and no longer be possessed by this dream, but rather be possessed by your Spirit. I don't know how to surrender. I have lost myself in this dream. Help me to lose myself in you. I want to let go of this world, pick up my cross and follow you. No matter the cost. Show me how to surrender, not just for today, but for always. Make my heart eternally YOURS. Help me to let go and trust in you alone. Show me how to love you and find all my love in you."
All glory to God: our Father, our Everlasting and our Deliverer,
Meghan
