3 Ways To Eliminate Idols From Your Life Once You’ve Identified Them
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Now that you’ve identified the idols in your life, it’s time to deal with them (if you still need to identify them, start HERE with this simple 4-question Checklist to Identify Idols In Your Life). How do you eliminate idols? Here are 3 ways you can get rid of the things you’ve idolized.
Eliminate Idols By Reading the Word
The very first step to eliminating idols from your life is reading the Bible.
When King Josiah heard the Scriptures, his heart was so moved that he laid waste to temples, idols, and any structure erected that did not honor God. (Read more about that in “Reading the Bible Changes Your Life: A Look At Josiah“).
Lord, let your Word reveal to me any areas of idolatry. If anything has become more important than You, show me and give me the grace to remove it from my life. If it can’t be removed, give me the grace to move it below You and submit it to You.
Eliminate Idols By Recognizing What Is Holy
In Ezekiel 22:26, God says that the priests stopped differentiating between what was holy and what wasn’t. They then failed to teach the people of Israel the difference between clean and unclean.
In Ezekiel 14 (and many other places), it is made clear that the nation of Israel had fallen away from God and worshipped idols. One reason for this was the failure to recognize the holiness of God.
A. W. Tozer says the same thing about Christianity today: “We have learned to live with unholiness and have come to look upon it as the natural and expected thing.”
Lord, teach me to honor You as the holy Lord of my life. Let me see the difference between things of You and things of this world. Let me appreciate the freedom I have in You without forgetting the reverence You deserve. Let me see areas of compromise that need to be shattered and areas of devotion that need to be established.
Eliminate Idols By Honoring The Sabbath
Also in Ezekiel 22:26, God states that one of the issues was that the Sabbath was disregarded.
While we know from Paul’s teachings in the New Testament that we are no longer tied to a legalistic honoring of a holy day, we also know that God prizes rest and has called us to it.
Isaiah 58:13-14 says that when you learn to delight in the Sabbath you will also delight in the Lord.
Related: Do We Have To Honor The Sabbath
When your delight is in the Lord, you will not want to delight in the things that have become idols in your life any longer. When you rest in God, you will start to see the areas where you strive (which are often areas of idolatry as well).
Lord, teach me Your ways. Don’t let me neglect Your principles because of my freedom. Teach me to honor the Sabbath by resting in You instead of by following a bunch of dead laws. Help me to find my delight in You. Lord, let the things of this earth never satisfy me, but let my fulfillment come from You alone.
Related: How To Find Your Rival Gods