Category: Faith

  • Unseen Idols – Control

    Unseen Idols – Control

    The most dangerous idols are often unseen, like the subtle desire for control that can masquerade as virtue. This desire becomes an idol when our personal plans and sense of security supersede our trust in God’s presence. The Apostle James offers a powerful corrective, reminding us that life is brief (“morning fog”) and that we must always qualify our plans with, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:13-16, NLT). Failing to do so is evil boasting.

    Recognizing the Idol in Our Hearts

    Identifying a hidden idol requires a spiritual site inspection, as theologian Tim Keller observed that the heart is an “idol factory.” Idolatry is about “inward allegiances” (Colossians 3:5), seeking from anything other than God what only He can give. The impulse to seize control, like instinctively grabbing a non-existent brake in a panic, reveals fear and what we truly trust. The true test of this idol’s presence is not how we feel when we have it, but how we react when it is taken away—losing control reveals if we have an allegiance to anything that, if lost, would make life feel “hardly worth living.”

    A Tale of Two Kings: Responding to Lost Control

    The lives of King Saul and King David provide a stark contrast in reacting to lost control. When faced with the Philistine army, a terrified Saul desperately tried to manipulate God for an answer, eventually resorting to forbidden acts to regain control. His approach was to treat prayer as a list of demands. In contrast, after David spent 12 years on the run and even compromised by seizing his own control, he faced total devastation with the burning of Ziklag and the capture of his family. In this moment of utter loss, David strengthened himself in the LORD his God and humbly inquired of the Lord, then submitted to His command (1 Samuel 30:6b-8). David used prayer as a lifeline to find God, not a lever to force His hand.

    Letting God Be God

    David’s template—to strengthen oneself in the Lord, inquire, and submit—is the key to overcoming the idol of control, built upon the truth that our control is an illusion. God is sovereign; “he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115). His ultimate control is either a threat or the greatest comfort, depending on our faith in His goodness.

    The songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman reminds us that peace is found in accepting our human limits: “God is God and I am not.” At its core, the idol of control is the original sin of seeking to be our own god; letting go of it means practically and fully letting God be God.

    Personal Reflection

      Take a moment to prayerfully invite God to search your heart, just as David did. Consider your own life in light of this devotional and ask Him to reveal any areas where the unseen idol of control has taken root.

      1. When you feel things slipping out of your control, what is the immediate response of your heart?
      1. In what area of your life are you currently trying to force a specific outcome, rather than submitting it to God?
      1. Think of a time God’s plan seemed to be taking too long. Like David, did you take matters into your own hands, and what was the result?
      1. Are your prayers more like a list of demands to a service provider or a humble petition to a sovereign God you trust?
      1. What would it look like, in a practical sense, for you to “let God be God” in your biggest current worry?

      Closing Prayer

        Lord, I invite You to search me and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. Please point out anything in me that offends you—especially the hidden idol of control. Forgive me for the times I have trusted in my own plans more than in Your providence. Grant me the grace to surrender my will, my timelines, and my desire for certainty into Your loving hands. Help me to trust that You are God, that You are good, and that You are in control. Lead me in Your everlasting way. Amen.

      1. God’s Invitations in Our Situations

        God’s Invitations in Our Situations

        In every situation, God extends an invitation. It’s not an invitation to escape our circumstances, but to overcome them—to be shaped by His presence and purpose in the middle of the struggle.

        In every difficult situation—in the midst of bad news, storms, and frustration—God is still extending an invitation. Being an overcomer in Christ is not about escaping life’s hardships, but about disarming their power to determine our destiny or define us. Spiritual growth, or formation, is the “great reversal” of moving from being the one who controls things to being a person shaped by the presence, purpose, and power of God in all things.

        The pathway to spiritual maturity often involves making peace with difficult truths that sound like bad news, but each truth holds a powerful invitation from God. We are invited to:

        1. Live from Victory, Not for Victory: Although life is hard (John 16:33), we are invited to take heart and live from the victorious salvation Christ has already secured through His defeat of death.
        2. View Death as an Extension of Eternal Life: While we are destined to die (Hebrews 9:27), God invites us to view death not as extinction, but as a doorway into our continued eternal existence in Christ, motivating us to live out the ways of heaven on earth now.
        3. Make Peace with Human Limitations: Recognizing that “you’re not that important” allows us to find freedom in living within limits, setting us free from trying to assume attributes that belong only to God, such as always being in control or striving for perfection. Our unwillingness to live within limits is a deep source of burnout.
        4. Experience the Joy of a Significant Life: When we accept that “your life is not about you”, we are called to follow the example of Jesus who came to serve others (Matthew 20:28). God invites us into the joy of a significant life (adding value to others) rather than just striving for success (adding value to ourselves).
        5. Come to God and Let Go: Although many are the plans in a person’s heart, it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails (Proverbs 19:21). The invitation is to embrace a faith that surrenders to the unknown, opening ourselves up to heaven by letting go of our own control.

        Reflect

        1. In what specific area of my life am I striving for victory rather than confidently living from the victory Christ has already won?
        2. If I truly viewed my physical death as only an extension of my life eternal in Christ, how would that change my priorities or the way I love others today?
        3. Which of God’s attributes (like needing to be in control or always having the answer) am I exhausting myself trying to live out, and how can I let go of that impossible striving and find freedom in my human limitations?
        4. Am I currently prioritizing success (adding value to myself) or significance (adding value to others), and how can I shift my focus to experience the complete joy that comes from bearing fruit for the sake of others?
        5. What bad news or frustration am I desperately trying to control right now, and how can I open myself to God’s prevailing purpose by letting go and choosing to trust Him as my good God?

        Closing Prayer

        Heavenly Father, we come to you with our bad news, knowing that in every challenge, You extend a divine invitation. We choose our “yes” to Your invitations. We pray for the grace to let go of our fear of death, our need to control, our drive to prove our worth, and the idea that our life is about us. Shape us by Your presence and power so that our trials lose their ability to define us, and instead become powerful testimonies of Your goodness and sovereignty. Amen.

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      2. Masters of the Heart

        Masters of the Heart

        Our hearts are central to our being, and God’s Word instructs us to guard them diligently.

        “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” – Proverbs 4:23

        Our hearts are central to our being, and God’s Word instructs us to guard them diligently. Jesus spoke extensively about money as a significant threat to our hearts, describing it as the only thing, other than God, that seeks to sit on the throne of our hearts. Money, like power and sex, has both a dark and light side.

        Jesus taught us about where our treasure truly lies:

        “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

        This calls us to choose between earthly and heavenly treasures. He also contrasted a “good eye” with a “bad eye,” referring to generosity versus stinginess. Ultimately, Jesus makes it clear: “You can’t serve two masters”—God or Mammon.

        Another challenge Jesus addressed is worry. He encourages us not to worry about daily needs, assuring us God will care for us, just as He cares for the birds. Jesus’ solution to worry is profound: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” This challenges us to examine our values and where we place our trust.

        Consider two wealthy men who encountered Jesus with distinct outcomes. The rich young man went away sad, unwilling to part with his many possessions. In contrast, Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, declared he would give half his wealth to the poor and repay anyone he cheated four times over, leading to Jesus declaring, “Today, salvation has come to this home.”

        Biblically, the “heart” refers to the totality of our being—our mind, emotions, and will. We are called to bring all that we are to God.

        The Bible refers to only one person as “a man after God’s own heart”—David, the King of Israel. Despite his failures, David remained “a man after God’s own heart” due to:

        • Wholehearted Devotion: He was utterly devoted to God, determined to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem and establish proper worship.
        • Genuine Humility: He recognized everything came from God, and his repentance for his sins was profound and sincere.
        • Faithful Trust: He demonstrated complete faith in God, as seen in his encounter with Goliath, declaring “the battle is the Lord’s.”
        • Worship: He was a profound worshiper, pouring out his heart in the Psalms and passionately dancing before the Ark.
        • Kindness: He extended kindness even to his enemies, seeking out Mephibosheth, Saul’s crippled grandson, restoring his inheritance.
        • Generosity: He was generous, giving extensively to the temple project and encouraging his people to give sacrificially.

        Today, Jesus knows our hearts intimately. He is gracious and loving, desiring for us to come to Him and find freedom. Our response might involve a step of faith like tithing, giving more generously, or repentance in a relationship. As we approach communion, we are invited to search our hearts and respond to God’s heart for us, remembering His immense grace and self-sacrifice.

        Reflect:

        1. What “thing” currently seeks to sit on the throne of your heart other than God, and how can you intentionally guard your heart against it?
        2. In what ways do you find yourself storing up “treasures on earth” rather than “treasures in heaven,” and what practical step can you take to shift your focus?
        3. Are you serving God or Mammon? When confronted with a tough choice, where does your true allegiance lie, and how does this make you feel?
        4. How does a “scarcity mindset” manifest in your daily life, and what does it mean for you to “seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness”?
        5. Reflecting on the examples of the rich man, Zacchaeus, and David, what aspect of having “a heart after God’s own heart” do you feel God is calling you to grow in right now (e.g., devotion, humility, trust, generosity)?

        Closing Prayer:

        Heavenly Father, we acknowledge that You alone are worthy of the throne of our hearts. Forgive us for allowing other things to distract us. Help us to guard our hearts, store up treasures in heaven, live with generous “eyes,” and seek Your Kingdom first. We pray for a heart like David’s—a heart of wholehearted devotion, genuine humility, faithful trust, fervent worship, deep kindness, and abundant generosity. May Your grace empower us to respond to Your call, finding freedom and wholeness in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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      3. Peculiar People – Walking by Faith

        Peculiar People – Walking by Faith

        the miracle you want to see may be determined by the words you’re walking on. The royal official didn’t wait for a miracle he could see; he walked into it by faith on what Jesus had said, because “no word from God will ever fail”. You may fail, but He won’t, so keep walking.

        The Bible describes Christians as a “peculiar people”. This designation isn’t about being strange for its own sake, but about living in a way that often appears foolish or illogical to the popular culture around us. This is because “God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish”. Our faith walk is unique, directed by divine wisdom rather than what makes sense to the world.

        Consider the story of a royal official from John’s gospel, chapter 4, whose son was critically ill in Capernaum. Hearing that Jesus had arrived, he desperately sought Him out, begging Jesus to come and heal his son who was “close to death”. Given his political status, his association with Jesus would have been highly noticeable, and perhaps even negatively perceived due to royal officers’ connections with Herod. His desperate pursuit of Jesus for his child’s healing might have been understandable to observers.

        However, Jesus’ response was direct and peculiar: “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”. And here begins the truly peculiar walk: “The man took Jesus at his word and departed”. Imagine the scene: he had come seeking a healer to bring back to his home, but he returned “empty handed as though his son no longer needed intervention”. People might have assumed Jesus rejected him or that he simply gave up. Yet, the truth was, he was choosing to walk in what Jesus said.

        His initial journey towards Jesus was driven by what he saw—his dying son and Jesus’ proven ability to heal others. But his walk home was directed by what Jesus said, even though it might have seemed “foolish” to those watching. Observers would likely question, “How do you trust someone’s words over and above what you’ve seen with your own eyes!”. This walk seemed “weird” because he wasn’t being directed by the situation he saw, but by the words Jesus spoke. This illustrates a profound truth: the opposite of faith is not fear, it’s control. When we can “make sense of things,” it often creates the illusion that we have a level of control. Walking by faith, therefore, means taking Jesus “at his word”—walking with “what he said” steps, not steps dictated by what we see, assume, or can logically comprehend.

        The royal official’s belief in Jesus’ words meant he walked home without expecting Jesus to be physically present for his son’s healing. His peculiar, faith-filled steps led him to the miraculous news that his “boy was living”. It’s important to recognize that his faith wasn’t necessarily a simple, unwavering confidence; he may have struggled and “clung to with every step” to a “thinning grasp” of hope. Even a “mustard seed of faith” that allows us to “continue to walk on what Jesus said” is enough, because “For no word from God will ever fail”.

        Often, the “abundant life in Christ” we are “waiting for, may actually require us walking into it”. This isn’t just about external practices, but about our internal posture. Do we truly walk as though we believe what Jesus says about who He is, who we are, and about others?. The royal official had to walk home with an “intentional posture of expectation,” even when it felt “unnatural to his own default beliefs and perceptions”. He walked “in between a bad situation he could see, and a miracle of healing he had only heard spoken”. Yet, the reward for walking in faith was a miracle he could see.

        In the scientific world, “gait analyses” study what a person’s walk reveals about them, linking it to personality, emotional state, and confidence. This prompts us to ask: “What would your spiritual stride say to someone about your faith if they were able to analyse it?”. Are we walking with a “what I see” stride, or a “He said” step?. For instance, do we walk seeing ourselves as a “broken mess,” or as “His beloved masterpiece” as He said?. Do we perceive God as a “disapproving parent,” or do we take steps in line with His word that “whoever comes to me I will never drive away”?. Do we see others as “dark forces” and seek vengeance, or do we step in line with His command to “love our enemy”?.

        What needs to change in your walk today? What “attitudes, false beliefs and negative narratives” need to stop directing your spiritual posture, and what “life-giving words from Jesus need to be paved walked on as the next step in your stride”?. Remember, the miracle you want to see may be determined by the words you’re walking on. The royal official didn’t wait for a miracle he could see; he walked into it by faith on what Jesus had said, because “no word from God will ever fail”. You may fail, but He won’t, so keep walking.

        Reflect:

        1. How does my daily “faith walk” presently appear to those “indifferent to Jesus” in my world, and does it reflect the “peculiar” nature described in 1 Peter 2:9?
        2. In what specific areas of my life am I currently directing my steps based on what I see (my circumstances, popular culture’s wisdom, or my own assumptions) rather than explicitly on “what He said”?
        3. Where do I need to release the “illusion of control” in a situation and choose to trust Jesus’ words, even when it feels “foolish” or “unnatural” to my default perceptions?
        4. Considering the “gait analyses” analogy, what might my current “spiritual stride” be communicating about my faith, especially regarding how I see myself, God, and others?
        5. What “life-giving words from Jesus” do I need to intentionally “walk on” as my next step, believing that the “miracle I want to see may be determined by the words I’m walking on” rather than waiting for it to appear first?

        What next step do you personally need to take?

        Closing Prayer:

        Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your unfailing Word. Grant us the courage to be a “peculiar people,” walking by faith and not by sight. Help us to take You at Your word, to step forward with a posture of expectation, even when our circumstances scream otherwise. Guide our “spiritual stride” so that it reflects our belief in who You are, who we are in You, and how we are to love others. May we always choose to walk on “what He said,” trusting that the miracles we long for may be waiting for us to walk into them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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