Devotional
There’s a subtle danger that creeps into every believer’s life: the transformation of good things into God things. It happens so gradually that we often don’t notice until we’re already trapped. Consider the Israelites and their relationship with the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark itself was a beautiful, God-ordained symbol of His presence among His people. It represented the mercy seat where God would meet with them. Nothing wrong with that – it was a genuinely good thing, designed by God Himself. But somewhere along the way, their focus shifted from the God who dwelt above the Ark to the Ark itself. They began to worship the symbol rather than the One it symbolized. They turned a good thing into a God thing, and it led to devastating consequences. We do this too, don’t we? We take our church attendance, our prayer time, our Bible study, our worship music, our Christian friendships – all genuinely good things – and subtly elevate them to the place that only God should occupy. We start finding our identity in being the ‘spiritual one’ rather than in being God’s beloved child. Maybe it’s your ministry that’s become your identity. Perhaps it’s your theological knowledge that’s become your source of pride. Or it could be your worship experience that you’re chasing more than the God you’re supposed to be worshiping. The beautiful news is that God loves you too much to let you settle for counterfeits. When He disrupts our comfortable religious routines, it’s not punishment – it’s rescue. He’s calling us back to Himself, away from the good things that were never meant to replace Him. God wants your heart, not just your habits. He desires relationship, not just religious performance.
Bible Verse
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9
Reflection Question
What good things in your spiritual life might be competing with God for your ultimate devotion and identity?
Quote The pagan worldview is this: You take good things and make them God things. You take created things, and you make them God things.
Prayer
Father, search my heart and reveal any good things that I’ve elevated to God things. Help me to hold loosely to Your gifts while holding tightly to You. May my identity be found in Your love for me, not in my performance for You. Keep my heart pure in its devotion to You alone. Amen.