“Earth has nothing I desire besides you”
Psalm 73: 23- 26:
Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterwards you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
What would it look like to desire nothing besides God?
John Mark Comer describes our spiritual life as a ‘journey from fear to love’, and the way to love is faith. The more faith we have, the greater our capacity to receive and to give love. Our fears, however, are rooted in our attachment to the things we worship or idolise – the things we think we need in order to be happy and safe.
What are some of the idols in your life? Money? Success? Reputation? Pastor Jacob put it like this: ‘We worship what we trust to give us meaning, value and purpose’. I find it so easy to worship the approval of others, I desire to be loved by people. And yet this attachment to my reputation robs me of my freedom. It keeps me captive in a cycle of people pleasing and comparison and will always let me down. It holds me in fear and holds me back from love. Not only that but my idols dilute the greatness of God in my life.
But God is worthy of and requires ALL of our worship. He wants to transform our WHOLE lives.
Recently I have been convicted of the fact that if I want to see change and transformation in my life then I need to do something about it. Devotion is not passive. Every day we must choose devotion to God over devotion to our idols, actively reposturing every part of our hearts towards him until we can genuinely say that ‘earth has nothing I desire but you’. What would this complete and wholehearted devotion to God look like for you? What do you need to say no to in order to desire nothing but him?
Idols are always trying to direct our worship away from God. The Psalmist says,
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
The father longs for our love more than anything else. He loves us with an everlasting love, regardless of our imperfections and our failures to love him wholeheartedly. We are reminded in this Psalm that God is always with us, holding us and guiding us, and that one day He will take us into glory! God promises that he has great plans for our lives, better than we can imagine or achieve on our own, and these plans require our participation! I want to say no to my idols today, to choose devotion to God and receive the freedom and fullness of life that he offers, and I pray that you do too!
Love,
Celia
