It's been a challenging day, with a lot of tears, but I'm learning that tears are okay. That it's okay to grieve. That it's even healthy. The reason that it hurts so much to lose people, shows that we let ourselves be vulnerable. That the relationship mattered. If it didn't hurt, then the relationship meant nothing and that's not good. I risked loving, and that's why the loss hurts so deeply. And God heals, and He is enough. I don't have to have that other person in my life to be able to continue living for God. God is my everything and He will bring the people into my life that I need to keep me balanced. I know that He has a plan for my life, and I'm glad I've had people in my life, like Dave, who have been Jesus to me. Have been that Christ-like influence and have shown me who Jesus is, little by little. I'm still learning and growing and always will be.
We are called to be in relationship with people, as well as God, and sometimes that hard to balance, and figure out where the boundaries are. We need each other, and at the same time, we can't rely on each other. We have to rely completely on God. That can be confusing sometimes. Be honest. Do you ever get confused about whether or not someone has become an idol in your life? I do. Sometimes I wonder if Beth Moore is an idol in my life, and maybe at times she has been. I have to constantly keep myself in check, and back off if I feel I'm getting to involved with someone else other than God. There have been times that my husband has been my idol. Oh, boy! That can get ugly! I've realized it when I've been mad, and asked myself why I was mad, and ultimately, it was because he didn't fix me. He didn't make me feel all happy again. He didn't cure my depression! He can't do that! He's a man! He's a really wonderful man, that loves me.....but he's just a man! He's weak (yes, I just said that my husband is weak, because compared to God, he is!) and he doesn't know everything. Only God can be my everything! My husband can't, my pastor can't, my counselor can't, my very best friend's can't, my favorite teacher, Beth Moore, can't. Only God! And yet, we need those other people? Does that ever confuse anybody else, or is it just me? I need bible teachers. I need my counselor. I need my friends. I need my husband, and I need my pastors. That is really hard to balance and make sure that it is truly God that is my all in all, and not those other people.
Thank you for all of your posts. I feel like I am in a small way walking this journey with you. Each thing you share makes me think. Making people our idols, yeah that is really something I have been pondering this last few days. Seeing sin as sin, yeah needed that thought too. A special reminder of how special Dave was to so many of us. Thank You!
ReplyDeleteJust want you to know~ I love You~ I am praying for you and I am so proud of you for doing what you need to do to heal. See ya in a couple of weeks. Stacy
Well see ya in blog world anyway :)
ReplyDeleteAnything/anyone that we think about more often or longer than we think about God is an idol.
ReplyDeleteAnytime we try to get our needs met in a particular person/thing it is idolatry.
Specifically -
Anyone we tweet more often than we talk to God is an idol.
Anything or anyone that we turn to FIRST when we are hurting or needy is an idol. We should immediately seek/ask God, and he will touch our hearts directly and put people/things in our lives to help us.
Basically - what is your focus? Our focus should be on God, Jesus, and His Word. Anything else that we focus on and give much time/attention to - including ourselves, is technically idolatry. Now sometimes God will lead us to a place to work on our pain, but we need to keep Him first as we do that.
The enemy will try to tell us that these other people or things will fix us or make us feel better. But we need to remember only our Healer and Savior can pull us out of the pit and keep us out. And sometimes God uses those things we long for to help us through the difficult times.
It is a difficult situation because when you are hurting, you want to reach out to nearby people or substances to numb the pain quickly. When that happens - remember this:
GOD'S GRACE IS GREATER THAN OUR SIN.
God knows you are hurting and he knows what you need. He knows why you reach out. You are trying to be aware of possible idols in your life. Do NOT feel guilty about it. Accept His grace and continue seeking Jesus!!