I can’t give rawhide toys to my dog Kobe, because he gets weird. Instead of chewing on them like a normal dog, he puts them on the floor, in between his paws and guards them. Get too close, he curls his lip and growls. Picture Gollum guarding his “Precious” in the Lord of the Rings and you get the picture. The whole thing is pitiful! My naturally happy dog becomes miserable.

Finally, for his sake, I'll take the chance of becoming the first person ever to be mauled by a Golden Retriever, and carefully extract his new love. I don't want to, but that which was given to add pleasure has only stolen his joy.

The truth is, I can’t be too hard on him because I do the same thing.

My heavenly Father has given me all things to enjoy. (1 Tim 6?) But these gifts of love regularly expose problems in my heart. Hobbies, interests, and possessions can compete with God for those affections only He deserves. The result is always the same, a loss of spiritual passion, peace, and joy. Like my dog, I become miserable.

Therefore, because God loves me, He must remove what is hindering me. The extraction is painful but necessary. The throne of my heart is meant to belong to Him alone.

I don’t like it when God takes my idols. I fight it, I wrestle with Him, but fortunately it’s always a losing cause. When that area is finally surrendered and the Lord ascends to His rightful place, the fruit is sweet. Wonderful joy returns and I soar a little higher, I draw a little nearer to the one where real peace and contentment is found.

Is your Father dealing with an area in your life? Is He asking you to surrender something to Him? It’s painful, isn't it? The idols we allow to grip our heart can cling tenaciously. Let me encourage you to release it quickly. You’re not going to win this battle. He is a perfect parent and loves you enough to persist in removing that which is toxic in your life. The truth is, He is graciously taking you to higher spiritual ground, to a place where true contentment flourishes.