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Repent From Earthly Sources

The Bible says, "They will be held guilty, they whose strength is their god" (Hab. 1:11). Another example of what God considers "other gods" are the qualities about ourselves, the places, material things, circumstances, or other people from which we find reason to feel strong and have confidence. 

God knows what you need! He knows we all need something to depend on that will make us feel strong enough to tackle the difficulties of life. God designed us that way. The problem is that dependence on earthly ways of feeling strong is idolatry of the heart.

God wants to be your strength--anything else is idolatry. To some it may seem kind of selfish for God to ask so much of us. It is not. 

God is not asking anything from you that He doesn’t intend to replace with something far better.

The psalmist wrote, "The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him." (Psa. 28:7). It is right and good for you to repent and entrust yourself to God. By doing so, you will give Him a chance to prove to you that He can be a better God than the little "gods" of this world.

But here again, it is vital to note that everything you depend on to feel strong is intimately close to you. Your physical strength. A weapon. A wall around you. A machine, or the people you control. In the same way, you cannot depend on God as your strength unless His presence is intimately close to you. Consider David’s words when he said, "...the nearness of God is my good..." (Psa. 73:28). Depending on the closeness of God as your strength is the same principle reapplied.

The scriptures carry a strong rebuke for those who trust earthly ways of feeling strong. But, the good news is that those whose trust God as their strength will be like a tree planted by an abundant and flowing source of water.

Thus says the Lord, "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert...but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness.…Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit" (Jer. 17:5-8; see also Isa. 12:2,3).

Far more is realistic for you than what you may have ever even considered. For God to be your God, He knows He has to presence Himself with you intensely enough for you to be refreshed by it and be able to trust Him. He designed you with the needs you have because He wants you to depend on Him--He wants to prove He can be a better God to you than the little "gods" of this world.

Repent by coming to the place where you can trust God as your adequacy. The apostle Paul wrote, "Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God" (2 Cor. 3:5). It is entirely realistic for you to experience the presence of God to such an extent that this verse becomes true for you—every moment of every day. 

The Psalmist wrote, "...O Lord God, You are my confidence..." (Psa. 71:5). It also says, "The Lord is their strength, And He is a saving defense to His anointed." (Psa. 28:8). Repenting by trusting God to draw near and be your strength allows you to experience the anointing of God. 

Idolatry of the heart is a serious matter! God offers more. The Bible says, "O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God!" (Psa. 68:35). Your need can be what drives you to drive you to draw near to God and receive His presence. 

Even though you may not have been aware of what you have been doing wrong, you don’t have to keep living in idolatry! 

Repent by re-training your heart so that you turn to God and continually receive His presence. Love His closeness as your basis for feeling strong, confident, and reassured.  

Think about repentance as a way of trading earthly ways of feeling strong and confident for so much of God’s presence that you can’t help but trust Him. That way, you can say along with King David, "I love You, O Lord, my strength" (Ps. 18:1).

Warning: But, don't let yourself think of receiving His presence this way, as a thing you have to deserve or achieve. Repentance is a process of humbling yourself from thinking you have to achieve His presence and simply receive it. Repentance will help you find it easier to believe you can draw near and receive.

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I am praying for the Lord's abundant blessing on your efforts to direct your heart toward Him.

Barry.

     What to Repent From — Continued...

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(C) Barry Hall 1999

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Scriptures are taken from the updated NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1987, 1988, The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Other scriptures are from the New International Version or Amplified Bible as noted.