Pedestals

Do you have something/someone you have kept on a pedestal? I'm not talking about someone you admire, appreciate or look up to; rather, someone you hold higher than necessary. I'm referring to someone/something you've built up to be something great, to a point where you are blinded by their imperfections, flaws, inconsistencies, their humanness? Whether you've put money, a parent, a friend, a career, a relationship, a significant other, a boy/girl, a mentor, a celebrity, a car, a clothing item, etc. - i pray that we allow the Lord to absolutely annihilate anything we have on a pedestal other than Him.

In a matter of 24 hours, i have been convicted of keeping someone on a pedestal. And in the same 24 hours, after God has fully opened my eyes to how i act, how i've compensated for and reacted in the shadow of that pedestal, i am floored. I have made up countless excuses, i have defended their actions and behaviors until my last breath, i have allowed myself to be stomped on and taken advantage of. In the past, i've felt a need to impress, to reach out and interact with this particular person, to be swept off my feet and focus strictly on the beauties this person holds. After realizing that the past however many months have been lived underneath this pedestal, i was finally finally able to release it - to allow it to come crashing down. I have finally had enough. Today, i went through so many emotions - sorrow, a feeling of liberation, anger, injustice...quite the roller coaster, let me tell you. Yet a necessary roller coaster, that has allowed me to purge and gain clarity on the situation.

Whatever we hold high, whatever we build pedestals for, we serve and worship, in a sense. People/things/possessions/relationships - whatever it is, if it is on a pedestal it is an idol. Sometimes, we unknowingly place things on pedestals. We think we are serving the Lord, but there are times we may realize there is something else we are holding in high regard, in a place it does not belong. I urge you, dear friends, to examine your lives. Ask the Lord to test your heart - what, if anything, am i putting on a pedestal? What am i serving, besides God? What exerts power over me, who do i try to impress, what possessions do i idolize? What person - their reactions, responses, the things they say, the advice they give - do i allow to control me? When we allow God to convict us, it is then He is able to break down pedestals, and we may turn our gaze fully back to Him. When we keep the place we hold people/things in check, we are able to be released from a need to serve anyone/thing other than God.

Trust me, when you try to serve someone or live in the shadow and the control of what you have placed on a pedestal, you will be let down. You will be living a life in bondage. The Lord is the ONLY good and perfect One, the ONLY constant, the ONLY one that will NEVER fail or forsake us. It is Him we should serve, with EVERYTHING we have. It is under His shadow, under His power and faithfulness that we should live. It is bowing in adoration, falling facedown at His feet that we should resort to.

Lord, shake up our worlds. Tear down any pedestal we may have constructed and let us worship You alone.