Do You Really Want To Grow Closer To God?

To truly return to the Lord, we must put away idols.   ~~~   1 Samuel 7:2 “From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-Jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after God.” What does it mean to lament “after God”? The word “after” means exactly that, to be behind someone, like being behind someone in line. And if you are behind someone in line, then you are facing them, but they are not facing you. I think that is a good way to think of the situation. All of Israel is lamenting what they themselves have gotten into. They are crying out to God, but God is turned away from them. He is distant. Much like the ark of the covenant at this point, relegated to a high hill off in the distance. Why would the Lord be like this? Why did he stay turned away from them for so long? Verse 3 answers that question when Samuel says, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you.” The people of Israel were reaching out one hand to the LORD asking for His return, the blessing of His presence, His power, but with the other hand they held on to their idols. For twenty years. And here in lies the answer to perhaps some of our own misery, heartbreak, distance from God we experience in our lives. We say we want God’s closeness, but we still hug our idols. The reality is that you like the LORD, but you love your idols. Is God really this way that He would demand this type of exclusivity? Isaiah 59:2 “Behold! The Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” Listen to Isaiah’s word here and get the message. He begins by arresting our attention on what he has to say—“Behold! Do you think that the reason God has not come to your rescue is because he is not strong enough? Is His arm too short that it cannot reach out to you and pluck you from the sinking mire? Do you think that He is too far away and that He cannot hear you? Perhaps too busy with other things? That is absolutely not the case. The fault lies with you, O man. Your sin that you still hang on to, the sin that you love and practice, has served like a veil and separated you from God. That is why God is hidden from you! That is why He does not respond to your prayers and calls and wails of mourning! You are asking for what you don’t really want. You ask for God, but you just want relief; you already have your gods that you are serving and of which you will not relinquish.” If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the idols from among you.