Lucky Charms

No, I am not talking about the cereal.  I am thinking about those things in our lives in which we place a belief that their presence makes a difference in the outcomes of circumstances.  When you were little, did you ever have a  rabbit's foot on a key chain because someone had said it was lucky?  How about hunting in the grass for a four leaf clover?  What about famous sports players who declare that they have to wear the same shirt or the same color to insure their win?  Examples abound all around us.  As true believers we know that these become false idols in our lives, even if trivial ones.  Then again, can you use the word "trivial" in the same sentence as fasle idols?

Recently I was studying 1 Samuel and reliving the battle of the Israelites against the Philistines.  The battle was not going well (chapter 4).  An unidentified individual came up with the bright idea to get the Ark of the Covenant and bring it into the center of the battle. From verse 3, "Let's bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Shiloh.  If we carry it into battle with us, it will save us from our enemies."  Did you catch the subtle shift of emphasis there?  Notice they say "it" not Yahweh or the Lord.  Their faith was in the physical Ark not in the Lord whom the Ark represented.  If you are familiar with the story, then you know that their plans failed - miserably.  The Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines and God began to wreck havoc on the Philistines.  Fascinating story and worth the re-read.

What is the message for us?  Far too often we put our faith in ritual or in the manifestations of the Lord and His love for us instead of in Him alone.  The shift in our own lives is so subtle that just like the verse quoted above, we can miss it.  God's adamant commands about idol worship are clear and unequivocal.  There are to be no other gods before us.  He is the only one that deserves our allegiance, our love, our attention, our faith.  Yet too easily we succumb to lowering our eyes onto other gods and allow them presence in our lives.  This particular sin is as old as man.  Think about Adam and Eve's initial sin, or even go back further and think about the fall of Lucifer.  He was putting faith in his own abilities to compete with God Almighty.  He made himself equal to God able to do whatever the Creator could do.  He used a piece of fruit to lure the original first couple away from God.  Perhaps the first idol worship - this fruit would give what we desired.

Let's take this down to a very miniscule level.  Have you ever gotten into a routine with devotional time with the Lord, a daily routine?  Then in the midst of the chaos that sometimes descends on us, you miss a day, or two or three and then are convicted with guilt.  What is the source of the guilt?  Is is fear that because you have failed to maintain this commitment that God will descend on you with discipline as He did with the Israelites for abusing the Ark of the Covenant?  Or is it more appropriately sadness that you have allowed life to interfere with your passionate pursuit of intimacy with the Lord and setting aside time for Him to speak into your life?  There is a significant difference between these two reactions to the same circumstance.  One is born out of creating an idol out of our routines and the second is born out of agape love for Yahweh that takes second place to no one or no thing.  

Superstition is a tool of the enemy, a weapon of the dark side to distract us.  However it is usually accompanied by idol worship of some form.  Do you know anyone that reads horoscopes?  Is this not putting credence in knowledge that is not God delivered?  Divination is spoken of frequently throughout scripture - Old and New Testament.  Tarot cards, mediums, Ouija boards and the like are all forms of this and they are a form of idol worship because more credence is given to them to tell the future than developing an intimate communion with the only source of life, our Creator, our Lord, our Abba.  However most of you already know this and have turned from any such activity long ago.  Therefore my question for all of us is this: What could be a distracting idol in our lives?

As I ponder this question for myself, I am evaluating those things that pre-occupy my mind.  A very wise person once said to me, what you think about the most is the Lord of your life. There are unquestionably aspects of my life that trouble me and cause me to stop and dwell on them.  However, I am blessed because Holy Spirit quickly asks me a simple question, "Do you trust God to handle this or not?"  My answer is an absolute yes!  So then Holy Spirit asks, "Then why are you dwelling on it?  Release it to His tender care and mercy and trust that He will do the best thing in this situation."  By the way, God's best thing may not be Janice's idea of the best thing.  But Abba has the big picture and I can only see my corner of it.  So I had better trust the master artist; trust Him, keep my faith centered in Him and not let anything else interfere with a laser beam signal from God's heart to mine.  Sweep away those false idols, burn them at their source, clear the way for God to move freely without my interference.  Yes, it is time for spiritual spring cleaning and to make way for an incredible sowing and reaping.  Will you join me?