Shatter: Leave Your Idols BehindSample

Day 6: Taking Whatever Means Necessary

I am sure you have heard at least one of these sayings: “Easier said than done,” “Don’t just talk the talk, walk the walk,” or “Do as I say, not as I do.” All of these have one underlying message: it is much easier to say you will do something than to put it into practice and live it out. A great example of this is the January gym rush. Gyms see their numbers spike at the beginning of the new year and then watch as 50% of their members cancel their memberships by the end of the first month. That means when everyone entered the year looking to keep their resolutions, only half of them followed through with taking whatever means was necessary to do so.

There are these terms I tend to use a lot, and they are “head knowledge” and “heart knowledge.” Head knowledge is the first level we must strive for; it is what we know. Then, once we have that head knowledge, we can find our heart knowledge. This is what we believe. We are only at the beginning when we have both the head and heart knowledge. The rest of the fight is living it out. This is what you will do. God calls us to be “doers of the word” (James 1:22) to live it out.

My example of putting head and heart knowledge into action:

• Idol: Worrying about my future
• Head Knowledge: I know that worrying won’t get me anywhere, and I should probably pray about it.
• Heart Knowledge: I believe that God is my provider and my protector. I believe God has a plan for me.
• Action: I will start each morning writing down something I am worried about and then spend 5 minutes praying about that one thing. Then, when I see how God provides in the future, I will write about it so I can reflect back to see how God was faithful.

Once you have a clear path on how you plan to leave your idols behind, it is all about discipline from there. Living it out is where it is easy to fall short. It can be hard to put in daily practices like reading your Bible or praying. The difficulty usually comes once the initial excitement from taking your next step levels out. It is easy to be on fire and want to change right after an event like Deep Freeze, but what about a month later? What about when those idols that you got a break from during the weekend start coming back into your daily life? This is where Romans 7:13-21 seems to come to life in our head! “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (verse 19). This is why we started with head and heart knowledge. When it gets tough, you can remind yourself what you know and what you believe so that it gives you the motivation to continue in the good fight.

Your action may be as simple as writing down your worries, but it may also look slightly different. It could mean getting rid of something physical that is taking too much of your attention. It may be ending a friendship or relationship with someone you know is pulling you away from God. It may be deleting certain apps that take up your free time when you could be having devotional time. It could be creating restrictions on your devices so that you cannot access certain things that may cause you to turn your attention away from God. Although these are different steps to take, every one of them is a step towards furthering your relationship with God and leaving those idols in the dust!

Questions to Consider:

• What is your head knowledge, heart knowledge, and action for your idol? Write it down! Put it somewhere you can remind yourself daily (i.e., bathroom mirror, bedroom door).

Written by Kate