Today Sigrið Nicodemussen is going to review a good book for us:
This interesting book is written by Elyse Fitzpatrick. She comments persons in the Bible who all had this in common: they had an idol which was above God in their lives.
We hear about Rachel, Jacob’s wife and Joseph’s mother, who had physical idols. She also said “Give me children or else I’ll die”. Martha had other things to do than to sit with Jesus’ feet. Lot’s wife was disobedient, and the results weren’t good.
“What do you notice about the man who trusts in something else than God? He’s never satisfied.”
“If I only had ____ then my life would be easier!” – what would you put in there? the truth is that nothing except Jesus can fulfill and satisfy us.
Elyse writes this about trusting God:
“Trusting God means having confidence in Him and obeying His commands, no matter what the cost… Even though I trust Christ for my eternal salvation I frequently encounter other areas of my life where I’m not trusting God.”
The book came with these questions:
- What do I believe about the source of true happiness in the circumstance?
- What do I believe about God in this circumstance?
- What do I believe about myself – my rights, my goals, my desires?
- What am I trusting in?
You can also use these questions to reveal your functional gods:
- What did you want, desire, or wish for?
- What did you fear? What were you worrying about?
- What did you think you needed?
- What were your stragegies and intentions designed to accomplish?
- What or whom were you trusting?
- Whom were you trying to please? Whose opinion of you counted?
- What were you loving? Hating?
- What would have brought you the greatest pleasure, happiness, or delight? What would have brought you the greatest pain og misery?
“If you passionately desire the respect of others, then your life will be colored by the fear of man. You’ll worship other perople’s opinions.”
If you cannot rejoice in the Lord alone and be satisfies by Him, chances are that you have an idol in your life that fills more than God. It isn’t always easy to see what it is, but you can read the book and let God show you some truths. I’d recommend this to all people!
This is what goodreads says about the book:
”Why do we desire to live godly lives yet often find ourselves trapped in habitual sin? Fitzpatrick reveals that idolatry lies at the heart of every besetting sin, and helps us uncover hidden idols in our lives by moving us to ask: Why does the Bible warn about the deceitfulness of sin? What must I have for my life to be meaningful and happy? Do I love God whole-heartedly or are there other loves in my heart that clamor for my attention? She offers readers the hope found in God’s desire to have his children live free of idols, and his commitment to free them by his sanctifying power through Jesus Christ.”