There came a point in my life where I had to be torn down so I could be rebuilt. I came to understand that my life was meaningless and empty without the belief that I had pleased God and made Him proud. I had to come to a realization that I couldn’t honestly say I believed I had done that. It was then and only then that I could be rebuilt.

That which God builds cannot be torn down. Take God out of the equation, and nothing can stand forever. In Kings, we learn that God gave Solomon “wisdom more than all the grains of sand”. Despite such wisdom, his disobedience and idol worship would ultimately lead to the decline and division of the kingdom of Israel.

Trying to build something without God is a lot like building a sandcastle. It doesn’t matter how big your sandcastle is or how much time you spent making it. At some point, the wind is just going to knock it over.

In 1 Kings 14, we see God’s judgement on the house of Jeroboam for idol worship when his son becomes ill and dies. The truth is, if he had repented, his son’s life may have been spared. God reminded Jeroboam that it was He who had made him a leader over His people. King Jeroboam’s idolatry had angered the Lord, and because he had led the people away from God, his house would be knocked down.

Many Christians are idol worshippers. This may come as a surprise because when we think of the term “idol worshipper” we tend to picture someone bowing down to a statue. If you live in unrepentant sin— sin you refuse to at least try to turn away from—you practice idolatry. An idol is anything we place before the Word of God. Everyone sins, but not everyone chooses to live in sin; there is a difference. Your boyfriend, girlfriend, or relationship could be your idol; your children could be your idol as well. If you stay so busy with work that you don’t have time to pray or read your Bible, that too is an idol. Idols come in a many forms, and they aren’t all statues or golden calves.

When we place things before God, our lives, just like the kingdom of Israel, will be subject to decline and division. I remember when my own “kingdom” began to crumble. I had built my life around a man that God never intended for me to be with. It’s not that I was purposely disobedient but ignorantly so. I ignored God all the times He tried to tell me, convincing myself he was the one. Then one day, he moved, and my whole world came crashing down. I was alone, truly alone for the first time in a long time. But God met me there, and He built something in me that cannot be torn down because He will never leave me.

Idolatry leads to the destruction; repentance facilitates rebuilding.

In order to be rebuilt, we must repent. We must become aware of the idolatry that exists in our lives and tear down those altars. If we don’t tear them down, they will eventually crumble; nothing can stand without Him.

I hope this encourages you today to identify where idolatry exists in your own life and make some difficult decisions if need be. I pray you would allow God to rebuild in you something infinitely better in it’s place—that which can never be torn down.