A Hard Word

A HARD WORD
Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. 1 John 5:21

Last Sunday Pastor Steve began his sermon by saying that we were going to receive a hard word from God. As we paged to the book of Ezekiel, my first thought was that he meant it was going to be hard to understand. I was wrong. The hard word was not in comprehending the message, but in accepting the hard word from God.

The elders of Israel went to Ezekiel because things were bad in the land. What they failed to see is how bad things were in their own hearts. They were full of idolatry. They had set up idols in their hearts and deserted God (Ezekiel 1:4-5).

Ezekiel says . . . Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. Then the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all” (Ezekiel 14:1-2)?

John Piper defines idolatry this way, “Idolatry is valuing any thing or any person more than the one true God. An idol is any thing or any person that takes center stage in our affections.”

Idols may be our children, our spouse, our work, our home remodeling project, our reputation, our cell phones, our aspirations, or our _______________. When we put people and things before God it’s idolatry. When we make choices, practice behaviors, and cling to habits that keep us from God, we put up obstacles and stumbling blocks.

As you and I identify the installed idols in our own hearts, God asks us the same question. Should I let them inquire of me at all (Ezekiel 14:2)? Should I bother to listen to her prayers? That’s a hard word as we seek more and more to become women of prayer this season.

God continues to speak to Ezekiel, you and me, “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices” (Ezekiel 14:6, emphasis mine).

If we want to talk to God and listen to God, we must be right with God. God’s plea to those in rebellion against His Word and to those who have deserted Him for idols is this: Repent! Turn! Renounce! Then the people of Israel will no longer stray from me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Lord (Ezekiel 14:11).

Prayer Step: Do you have an idol? Repent! Do you have a habit that keeps you from God? Turn! Do you practice behaviors that distance you from the Lord? Renounce!

Prayer invites me to bring my whole life into God’s presence for cleansing and restoration. Self-exposure is never easy, but when I do it I learn that underneath the layers of grime lies a damaged work of art that God longs to repair. Philip Yancey

Grace and peace,
Lenae