Destroy Your Idols - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - May 7, 2025
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3:5
During the past year, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder that could cause me to lose the function of my thyroid, which may require surgery to remove it. At the realization of this, I was devastated. I kept myself healthy, exercised, and drank as much water as possible.
At first, I tried to fix it on my own. I exercised more, changed my diet, tweaked my eating patterns, and avoided chemicals and toxins that may cause increased inflammation. These are good things, but I found myself obsessing over these things easily. I was constantly weighing myself to see how my new medication and regimen were helping me with weight loss.
I measured every ounce and worried about having a new food and what that would do to my body. Quickly, I realized I had made an idol out of my body. I was putting my hope and trust in my ability to fix this illness, rather than going to God.
In an effort not to grieve as effectively as I should, I covered it up by trying all the worldly solutions to get to the bottom of my illness. One day, I went to the Lord. I cried out to him about my grief and loss regarding my health. However, what God wanted was my heart. I cried out to him and asked him to sustain my life. I asked him for solutions to help me get my blood work normalized and help me survive this autoimmune disorder. I even asked the Lord to take it away and to give me good health.
Within a year, my blood work was regular, I had lost some weight, and I stopped going to food for fun and pleasure, grateful to the Lord for his mercy on my life. Because of my knowledge of him, I could destroy the idol in my life and not allow it to hinder me from a relationship with him.
Throughout the Bible, we see people erecting and destroying statues that represent idol worship. Idolatry is any false god that we worship other than God. In our lives, it's easy to identify the obvious idols: sex, relationships, work, etc. However, there are other idols that we can erect for our satisfaction, that keep us from a thriving relationship with the Lord. For example, parents can easily make their kids idols. When they allow their children to dictate when and how often they worship or with what posture they worship, their kids become idols.
Parents who skip regular church attendance or Bible study to put their child in many sports activities will quickly find that their kids stray away from the Lord because church attendance was not made a priority.
What idols exist in your life? Are there things you have difficulty letting go of because you are going to them for satisfaction and worship rather than a relationship with God? Analyze your heart and see where God is leading.
It may not be as easy to identify. You may be working extra hard to amass wealth or diversify your portfolio. You may be exercising too much to get people to notice you and give you the attention you want. You may be participating in an addictive behavior because it's trying to fill a hole in the soul that only God can. While some idols are sometimes applauded in the church, we need to recognize those idols and eradicate them.
A life yielded to the Spirit frees itself of idolatry. Give your soul completely over to the Lord. Ask the Holy Spirit to identify any idols in your life that may hinder your thriving relationship with the Lord. As you seek to eliminate these things, celebrate and be grateful for how God works in your life. You'll be amazed to see how free you are as you seek to worship God wholeheartedly.
Let's pray:
Father, let us be people who are free from idols. Help us identify and destroy the idols in our lives so we can live deep, spiritual lives rooted in you. Amen.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Helin Loik-Tomson
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