It’s a soul-searching journey. A dive into the heart of the matter. If we are earnest in our seeking,  it will take us on uncharted paths to uncover what really matters to our heart.We may discover that “idols” lurk beneath the veneer of our lives and we have fooled even ourselves.

What is that one thing or person that I crave to fill my deepest needs? Is it Jesus? As Christians, we will answer quickly that it is He. But I know that deep within me lie other cravings–really idols–that I run after to fulfill my needs. Only to find that I am still empty.

So what is it in your life that calls your name,? That says if I have this, then I will know I am approved? Is it acceptance of your writing? The love of someone special? The healing of relationships that demand every ounce of your energy to restore? A better physical appearance? The job that will say,

“I have arrived. I am not a failure”? Or perhaps it is well-behaved children whose obedience declare that you are the model parent?

I began this year knowing that the Lord desired to take me on a journey of “Love.” To reveal His love to me and then ask me to share His love with those around me. I did not realize how deep into the crevices of my heart He desired to go. The hardened clay that clogs the darkened areas of my heart making it difficult to breathe in His love. The “Love Idols” (#loveidols) standing like false gods demanding my worship to walk in what is counterfeit freedom.

Jennifer Dukes Luke has challenged us to walk into this dank, dark valley of our souls with Jesus this Lent. To find the “Love Idols” that have cluttered our hearts and clogged the arteries of where Christ’s blood desires to flow and set us free.

Jennifer has written a book called “Love Idol: Letting Go of Your Need for Approval – and Seeing Yourself through God’s Eyes.” In her book, she describes this need for approval: “At last, the teacher pauses beside me. She presses my grade onto the desk and pats my back, an attempt to offer reassurance for an overwrought child who does not want to disappoint her teacher or her parents. I flip the paper over and hold my breath until my darting eyes find what I crave. And I do. I find an A+ inked in a corner. Only then do I exhale, in one long, warm stream of air. The thin, red lines of a single vowel coax my fears into remission. This fulfills my daily requirement of approval, and now I can breathe.At least until tomorrow.”

Do you feel the Lord calling you on a soul journey this Lent? One that gives up a “Love Idol” in your life? Then jump to Jennifer Dukes Lee’s site and learn what the Lord has in store for you and how to order her book. More will be coming as we move into the rending of our souls beginning on Ash Wednesday.

“But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1 NIV

 From My Heart To Yours,

 Linking with Jennifer Dukes Lee at Love Idol Launch, Winsome Wednesday, and Word-Filled Wednesday

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