Is this your idol?

Sometimes when I read about the ancient Israelites in the Old Testament, I want to bang my head against the wall!

How is it that God’s chosen people could continue in these cycles of sin? After all the phenomenal things God had done for them, along with His great promises, they continue to turn from God to idols.

What really seems stunning is the story in Numbers 13 when God leads His people to the Promised Land. Moses sent 12 spies into this new land to check things out. The scouting report confirmed that “… it is indeed a bountiful country — a land flowing with milk and honey…” (Numbers 13:27b). Yet 10 of the spies added their fear to the report by saying, “But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!” (Numbers 13:28) and “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!’ So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: ‘The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!'” (Numbers13:31b-33).

When the Israelites thought their security was at risk, they failed to trust God.

We often do the same thing. We say we’re following Christ, until it becomes too risky. Our desire for security keeps us from taking risks required in following Christ or living life fully. It keeps us from tithing so we can trust in money as a source of security. We even enter into negative relationships as we look to others as a source of security.

The result is that security has become our idol, something we elevate higher than our faith in, and reliance on, God.

In our vain pursuit for security apart from God, we miss the simple fact that only He can truly keep us “secure.” Look at what the Bible says about the security we find in God:

“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe,” Psalm 4:8.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation — so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?” Psalm 27:1.

“But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm,” Proverbs 1:33.

And 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

In fact, there is a theme throughout scripture that those who trust in the Lord have nothing to fear, regardless of the circumstances they may face in life. Security is not found in the content of our circumstances, but in the reality of our faith in God.

Is security your idol, or a result of your trust in God?

Scotty