Surrendering My Idols, episode 80 (rebroadcast)

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If you love a prodigal, you can discover help and hope for your wilderness journey right here at When You Love a Prodigal,

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and even help and hope for your own life journey.

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Did you gain some help and hope for setting your prodigal free from the evil one's traps?

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I trust so that we talked about last week.

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And today, we will talk about some freedom for you.

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Please be sure to jot down any ideas, anything God points out, this is for you, so that you'll be able to apply it.

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I have always been amazed at the idolatry of the children of Israel throughout the Old Testament.

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I was sure I would never worship an idol until I discovered I had a serious idolatry problem.

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The prophet Isaiah repeatedly mocks the children of Israel for carving idols to worship out of a half of a log,

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and then with the other half of the log cooking their dinner.

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He said, how could anyone think that God carved out of a log could save them?

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We read in 1 Samuel that rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.

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Wow. Rebellion and arrogance.

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I need to examine my rebellious tendencies, which I have.

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I have rebellious tendencies.

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Is it permissible to stand against injustice if we can't be rebellious?

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Of course. Is it good to push the boundaries to reach a breakthrough?

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Probably it is. Is it okay to break some rules for a higher purpose?

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Sometimes, perhaps, is it right to say no to God, to choose my way over his way?

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Nope. Not okay. But do we still do it? Yes. I certainly have in my life.

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The good thing to know is that God understands our struggles.

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He knows. One of my favorite verses from Psalm 103, where he says he remembers that we are dirt.

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And what, you know, he made us from dirt. We'll be back, our bodies back to dirt.

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But he says he remembers that we have so little strength of our own.

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And that helps him to understand the struggles we have.

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He proves over and over that our stubborn and rebellious choices are not only wrong, but foolish.

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And they represent the idols in our minds and heart.

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How do I know he understands? He's God, and he is good. He knows. He cares. And he is able to help.

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He is a perfect blend of justice and mercy. He loves me more than I can comprehend.

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He is holy, and he is grace, and so much more. Even knowing all that, do I still rebel? Sometimes.

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But fortunately, life and experience have taught me well.

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I totally believe that his way is always better than my way.

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And gratefully, I usually, now, choose that way without a fight.

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The reality is sometimes I thought I had to have something, you know, something like my red Mustang convertible.

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Or the recognition that I thought I deserved for something I had done.

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Or other things to be happy, to be fulfilled, satisfied.

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And those things can become idols. They can be so important to us.

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Idol is defined by God. Anything that is higher in our affections than God.

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Whatever we think, we must have to be happy. Something that occupies the throne of our lives.

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The primary idols of my heart? My own way and control of my life.

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And that's been a battle I fought my whole life. That I would get what I want, and I would be in control of my life.

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I didn't care about controlling others' lives, just mine.

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But as I grew in my walk with God, I discovered this pattern in my conversations with God.

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Previously, not infrequently, I would say, Lord, I must have this, something I wanted.

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And God would say, probably not, Judy. Just surrender. You'll find what you really want.

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I'm a very slow learner. When God called me to serve him, to join the ministry I'm a part of,

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my fiance said, no, he was not going to be doing that. And I said, Lord, tell him.

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And God said, Judy, if you marry him, you won't be able to do what I want you to do.

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So which way do I choose? My way or God's way? I surrendered.

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I chose not to marry that man I loved because God said he had another plan for me.

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And I loved what God had for me to do. When a man less qualified than I was given the job

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I thought would be mine, I said, no, Lord, this is not right. And God said, this is of me

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and it will be good. I surrendered. And God used that man to teach me so much

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and prepare me for what else he had for me to do.

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When the man I loved was in no hurry for marriage, I said, Lord, either let us get married,

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my plan and a good one, or let this be over. I'm tired of not knowing. And God said, no,

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Judy, stay. You have so much to learn about my way, the my being the Lord's way.

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I surrendered. And a few years later we were married. And you know, he was definitely

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worth waiting for. When my first baby cried for months, I said, Lord, I am no good as a mother.

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I will never be in control of my life again. And God said, you are just right for this child.

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And she is just right for you. For she will help you learn that your control of your life

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is not as good as my plans for your life. I surrendered. And each day I continued to

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learn more about choosing God's way. I wish I could say I always stay surrendered,

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that I keep my white flag waving always. But my desire for my own way is deeply ingrained.

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So my father continues firmly, creatively, gently, and lovingly to pry my fingers loose

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from my grip on my life, calling me to let go, to trust him, to surrender. And when I once again say,

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I must have this, he says once more, really, Judy, again, I have a better plan. And once again,

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I hopefully say, I surrender. So sometimes reluctantly or begrudgingly, sometimes with

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great sorrow or confusion, occasionally with anger and rebellion, or at least angry and rebellious

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words. Too often letting go of the same thing I must have over and over. But then it comes,

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I surrender. Now, why do I share those stories? They are examples of idols. Anything that I put

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higher in my affections than God has become an idol. Anything that I think I must have

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becomes an idol. And we know that God told us not to have any gods higher than him. That is, no,

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idols. Over and over in his word, he reminds us that he is El Elyon, the most high God.

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He says these beautiful words to us, to whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal? Lift up your

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eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all of these? He who brings out the starry host,

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one by one, and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength,

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not one of them is missing. And yet we are so like the children of Israel, constructing our own

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idols, pursuing what we think will satisfy or rescue. I know, I've done it before. My recidivism

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rate is pretty high. Why do I want my own way so much? When you love a prodigal, this can be

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a frequent conversation with God. I think for most of us, our most common idol is a person or people,

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people we love. And often those much loved wanderers and their return become idols in our lives.

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Some time ago, our son was going through a hard time. I thought he was doing well, making good

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progress, but I realized he was again making some really bad choices. My response was, no, he can't.

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I can't bear going back to what it was like when he was making all those bad choices. I can't stand

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for him to not choose God's best. I can't do this again. And there was my son, up on the throne of

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my life, on the throne of my heart. His becoming the man God made him to be had become, once again,

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an idol for me. Once again, I needed to take this thing I must have, the good life of my son, off

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the throne of my heart, and put it on the altar as an offering to my God. Please, Lord, take your

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rightful place. So God said, let's make a memorial, a remembrance of this surrender, which continues

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to be so hard for you. Take a piece of white paper, you know, a white flag, and write on it the idol

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you are surrendering. I did that. I wrote Josh, and my desire for him to be all that I hoped he

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would be on that paper. And the Lord said, offer it up to me, a sacrifice of your heart. Set it on

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fire, not your son, but this idol that he had become. Burn it. It'll be a sweet incense offering.

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Collect the ashes and place them in your alabaster urn. I have this, I don't know,

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seven-inch high alabaster urn, and I have those ashes in there. And he says, put it where you can

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see it. So I do. It's near where I do all my work. It's kind of out of sight for most people, but I

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can see it. And I know it's there. And it is a wonderful reminder for me. The Lord says, when you

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find yourself once more placing him or something or someone higher in your affections than your love

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for me, let it remind you of your white flag. Surrender. Sometimes it still takes me a little

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while, but oh, the freedom when God is in his rightful place in my life, on the throne, in

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control. And my idols, well, they're still important, but they are not an object of worship.

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They are not the most important thing in my life. So what about you? Do you have an idol

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you need to surrender? Maybe it's a thing, maybe it's a person, or maybe it's your plans for a

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person. Do you need a white flag? I hope you find the freedom I have found as you offer your idol,

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perhaps your prodigal, up to God. He will never quit working to bring him or her back to you

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and to himself, but he still wants to be in first place in your heart and your life.

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And I hope you'll tell somebody what God taught you today, what he said to you.

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And I would be so grateful if you would subscribe and rate and even write a review of this podcast.

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God bless you.