Do we worship gods?

^"28 Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns.  ²⁹ “Why do you bring charges against me? You have all rebelled against me,” declares the LORD" - Jeremiah 2:28-29

Arriving back in Africa after more then 20 years, I was reminded how important idols/gods still are in many cultures. Thank goodness we in North America are much more civilized then that and realize that idols can't do anything for us...right? But do we?

Last year I was forced to face this question head on. A move to Africa for both the benefit of my husband's career and our children, brought my design company (of over 15yrs) to a grinding halt as consistent internet issues and power outages made it impossible to meet deadlines any longer. As depression engulfed me, I came to the realization that I had become more reliant on my abilities than on God. In fact my whole identity had been wrapped up in what I did and not who I was. I was idolizing my abilities.

It is a common story that I hear all the time. But there are other things that cloud our judgment. In fact we have built our own self contained world to ENSURE our well being. We rely on our jobs, bank accounts, insurances, education and the world we have built for our security and sanity. All of this at the expense of family, community and even God.

In many cases we have adopted the worlds philosophy that we are responsible for our future, which sounds like a good philosophy. The only problem is that, that equation does not include God or the rest of our community and worse yet, it locks out anyone that can't meet that bar. It also means that when things go wrong but we have been trying our hardest...doing what we should be doing, then we look for someone to blame and God often is the one we blame.

God is too much of a gentleman to push His way into our lives. He has provided us with all the answers to have a great life AND have a prosperous community and country too, but He has also made it our choice to listen. It is like your mom warning you to look both ways before crossing the street. It is easy to drop your guard if there are never cars around but all it takes is that one time. God has gone out of His way to give us the inside scoop on everything about how the world works...even telling us how take advantage of His abounding love. 

Have you lost touch with the impact God has on your life? Have you become so self-reliant that you have lost your community, your family, maybe even become someone you don't want to be?

God doesn't hold grudges and is ready to help you find freedom again. Take a minute and talk to him. He knows that you don't have the energy or the stamina to do it on your own. As soon as you ask Him to help you out, His Holy Spirit will give you strength to start trying to follow Him again. For every step you take, God will help you take two. Before long you will wonder why you didn't try this earlier! :)