Taking Every Thought Captive...

Here's the factoid of the month (though it seems like a lesson I'll carry far beyond September) It is better to be alone, desperate for the friendship of the Lord and have days of combating the "no one wants me" lie than to have a false sense of security and identity wrapped up in family, friends or workplace and have God rip it out of my clenched little fist.
To do the second, is to experience Gods holiness in the face of idolatry.
Let's call it what it is. It is not a golden calf or Buddha with dollars taped to him that has been forged in blatant rebellion. It's anything I look to to identify myself that isn't Christ and Him crucified. I'm afraid this definition is much harder to work with than statues or possessions. It's a thought, one that God, in His goodness, has been challenging me with through the simple process of elimination.
Namely, through moving everything that has been consistent about my life the last two years- ministry, friends, work. You name it, the things I thought to be rocks for me where gone in a week. I found solace in a quote my friend posted to Facebook that said
"Whenever God takes something away, He rewards us with more of Himself."
There is comfort in this and it's the truth. Over the past month, I've seen God remove things that I've tried so hard to hold on to and then tenderly draw me nearer to Him. But it hasnt been without pain and confusion. This is the part where my idolatrous heart screamed and cried and panicked.
In the depths of my heart the problem was that I saw the areas that I wanted more than I wanted Jesus
and He said "they gotta go!"
And I said ever so earnestly in prayer "please no" And away they went. Idolatry robs our joy. As a child of God, I know and have experienced and anticipate joy in trials, temptation and suffering.
But there is no joy in idolatry.
Only God, in His perfect holiness, can truly sustain joy. He's perfectly perfect, there is none like Him and He alone is worthy of all my worship. He must be regarded as holy and it is in right worship of Him that He is glorified in me..no idols allowed.
It's through this season of intense gardening that God has affirmed to me how sweet it is to be justified, what a pleasure it is to serve His people, how necessary and true His Word is and what a great privilege it is to worship God!
Recommended resources-
This blog: http://theresurgence.com/2012/09/18/divorce-suffering-grace-and-freedom
This sermon: http://vimeo.com/m/49637066
This book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0875521983

Happy September!

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