Project Description
The Idols We Row Towards
Devotional
The sailors on Jonah’s ship were skilled men. When the storm hit, they did what capable people do. They worked harder. They rowed with everything they had, trying to reach the shore through their own strength. But the sea only grew worse.
There is something deeply familiar about that image. When life feels out of control, most of us instinctively reach for the oars. We try to manage the situation, protect our comfort, secure our approval, or hold onto whatever power we think we have. These are not just practical responses. They can become the very idols that keep us from trusting God.
Comfort, control, approval, and power are not wrong desires on their own. But when we grip them tightly enough that we would rather exhaust ourselves rowing than surrender to God, they have become something more than preferences. They have become the things we trust instead of Him.
The sailors eventually stopped rowing. They cried out to God, and the storm ceased. That moment of surrender was not weakness. It was the wisest thing they did on that entire voyage. God is not asking you to stop caring about your circumstances. He is asking you to stop trusting your own rowing more than you trust Him.
Bible Verse
“And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.’ Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let Him deny Himself and take up His cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.'” – Matthew 16:22-25
Reflection Question
Which of the four idols, comfort, control, approval, or power, do you find yourself gripping most tightly when life feels uncertain?
Quote
“Those four idols of the soul represent the things that we’ll trade. Our comfort, our control, our approval and our power.” – Pastor Scott Kerens, Lead Pastor
Prayer
Father, reveal the idols we have placed above our trust in You. Give us the grace to open our hands and surrender what we have been holding too tightly, trusting that You are more than enough. Amen.
