The Idol of Good Things Part 2
June 2026
Part 2
Walking out this life of faith will be the hardest and most rewarding thing a person will ever do. The process of sanctification, which is maturing and refining the believer, is not for the faint of heart. It’s a good thing we have a good God who strengthens you; otherwise, no one would make it through. Oftentimes, people believe that they will have a comfortable, trouble-free life because they are a Christian. Some believe they will be rich and have the world handed to them because they are now children of God. Each of them understands the promised land only in part. We still live in a fallen world, and Jesus promised us that there will be troubles. No one is exempt from this promise.
We will always have our free will to choose what we will do with our faith every day of our lives. Salvation is free, but maturity is an expensive choice. Look at the people in the world. You can have some young people more mature than their elders, and some elders who are still immature, stuck in their childish ways. The difference is their choice to grow or not to grow. God will not take away your free will; however, he will not be mocked either. You will reap what you sow in your life. Galatians 6:7. Reaping and sowing is a law throughout all creation, meaning its principles are found in everything of creation. The vastness of that thought is a feast to meditate on. Seeing the world as one giant garden and the Lord as the gardener is another one. Man's relationship with God even started in the Garden of Eden.
““I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”
Following Jesus will cost you everything. He says in John that those who love him follow him and obey him.
“23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. 24 Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. ”
“45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!”
“26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.”
Why does maturity cost so much? It costs us to deny ourselves, to lay down our momentary desires and to put to death pride in our lives. Pain is a mighty tool used to refine us and guide our growth into maturity. Maturity requires actions governed by wisdom, controlled by patience and self-control. Not all pain is from God. Some pain comes from reaping the rewards of past poor choices. Other forms of pain come from other people's brokenness and our enemy. Regardless of where the pain is from, nothing goes to waste, and God can turn it around for the good of those who love him.
“28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
“ 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”
As believers, we are never alone in this process. God is with us through the refining fires of our lives. In our painful seasons of life, there is an invitation for us to draw closer to God as we depend on him and allow him to heal us. This breaks the scales that pride covers our eyes with. Refinement puts pride and flesh to death and teaches us to walk in true humility with the Lord.
While the Israelites were in the desert, they walked it for 40 years after being delivered from Egypt. The Lord used the uncomfortable desert to refine them and to teach them his ways. It took that long to get Egypt out of them and to make them humble. Once they had learnt their lesson in trusting God and obeying, they were allowed to enter the promised land. The blessed life of comfort with the Lord. Comfort is not a bad thing. However, it becomes more important than obeying God. That is when it turns from a blessing to an idol. God's desire is to bless us so that we can grow and live and live abundantly.
“ 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. 8 It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey. 9 It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills. 10 When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.”
When we are comfortable, it becomes easier to forget God and go our own way. That is why it's important to grow in self-discipline to keep his ways and to keep going back to him. Reading his words and practicing what is learned is how we do this.
“10 When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. 12 For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, 13 and when your flocks and herds have become very large, and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! 14 Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. 15 Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! ”
Look at King Solomon, he was granted so much wisdom that he was the wisest man to walk this earth. He had so much wealth and comfort. He started out strong with a healthy fear of the LORD. That is the beginning of all true wisdom: the fear of the Lord. Despite starting out so strong, he began to forsake the Lord's ways and walk in human wisdom in his pride. Walking in worldly wisdom brought idolatry to the nation and its destruction. This is a man who wrote Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Two very different books of wisdom were gathered throughout his life. To be summed up in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
“13 That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. 14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.”
One thing to note is that, in this conclusion, he had knowledge and understanding of this wisdom. However, he didn’t act on it. He never tore down the idols he brought into the nation or showed any signs of repentance, leaving a legacy that enabled the nation's destruction. Reflect on the Western church, where we have gathered the abundance of knowledge gained from many bible studies and teachers, we make ourselves fat with knowledge, to sit and do nothing with it. The more you know, the more you will be held accountable for. Action is required to grow. That is why they say faith without works is dead. We were built to move and to work in the garden with the Lord in obedience to him. Not to be lazy and self-seeking, puffing up our pride amongst each other with how much knowledge we have or how much we sacrificed and surrendered.
“21 Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
22 But Samuel replied,
“What is more pleasing to the Lord:
your burnt offerings and sacrifices
or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,
and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
23 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,
and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.
So because you have rejected the command of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.””
It's not about how far you are willing to go, but how much you are willing to obey. Obedience will lead you to the sacrifice that will please the LORD.
For some, it is easier to hide behind the show of sacrifice they feel comfortable making than behind what is actually being asked of them. They keep a level of control and surrender to a religious process that pride likes to dress itself in. True obedience required hearts to be surrendered and circumcised to the LORD.
Romans 2:29 NLT
29 No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.
That is the kind of faith that pleases him. God is patient and knows how to move us into alignment with him; it requires our willingness to move with him. That is when we become humble in the wilderness and ready to enter the promised land with him. When we care more about being in his presence and staying there than chasing after the things of the world.
For believers today, comfort is still as much of a snare as it was for those gone before us. Many choose not to follow the Lord because of the uncomfortable process of refinement. So many people reject growth opportunities because they involve stepping out of their comfort zone. The fear of man is often greater than the fear of the LORD. How many believers let dust collect on their Bibles? Only turn to God in times of trouble. Seek his blessings more than his face. They are stuck desiring things of the world more than the things of the Lord. Allowing them to be lulled off to sleep and rendered useless while being robbed of their rewards in eternity. Salvation is free, but rewards are costly. Reject God and his ways long enough, and he will honour your free will and grant you your heart's desire to be away from him.
“10 Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.”
The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
So, understand that the choices you do make today in your life do matter. There is grace and mercy for us, yes. We all need it in abundance; however, be mindful of what you are building with. Obedience leads to building with gold, silver, and jewels. Walking in pride and the flesh leads to building with wood, hay, or straw. Be truly wise in your life and live it out, giving God all the glory, honour and praise. That is true worship of the Lord; it is not just limited to the songs we sing. It is in how we live our lives that we show who we worship and adore, and who sits on the throne of our heart.
Prayer
Father God, I lift these people up to you who have come to this page. I pray that their faith is strengthened and they are encouraged to keep going in their walk with you. I pray that they grow deeper in wisdom and understanding of your ways. That they will continue to make choices to grow into maturity in their faith. That they keep seeking your face and not just your blessings and favour. That their hearts are circumcised to you. Those who may be feeling conviction that they come to repentance before you and feel your overwhelming love for them. That it's not too late and that as long as they have breath in their lungs, you are not done with them yet. Help everyone have a clearer understanding of who you are, God, and what it means to be Holy.
Reveal any hidden idols in their lives and purify our hearts, Lord. Give them a healthy fear of the Lord so they can grow in wisdom. Remove any hindrance in their lives that prevents you from flowing through them to others, Lord. When people see them, let them see you in them, LORD. I pray that their heart will desire praise from you, Lord, more than praise from man. Thank you for your grace and mercy in this process of sanctification. Thank you for drawing nearer to us, and we draw near to you. Thank you for being more than enough and for being the strong one that we can always count on. Thank you for setting us free with your truth in love. Thank you for our free will to choose who we shall serve. Thank you for being awesome, God, in Jesus ' mighty name, amen, and thank you.