Ezekiel 8:5

God said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked toward the north, and there in the entrance to the north gate beside the altar, I saw the idol that stirs up God’s anger.

 

Thought for the day – Look North

Here's what gets me about this verse. The idol isn't out in the city somewhere. It's not in some pagan temple down the road. It's right there — by the gate of the altar. In God's own house. Tucked in right next to the place where people came to worship.

And God says to Ezekiel: look. Lift up your eyes. Don't pretend you can't see it.

I find that uncomfortable, if I'm honest. Because it's easy to spot the idols out there — the obvious ones, other people's ones. It's much harder to notice the one I've quietly parked next to my own faith. The thing I've come to lean on more than God. The habit, the worry, the ambition, the grudge I keep warm.

Wesley believed grace doesn't just forgive us and leave us as we are. Sanctifying grace gets to work in the heart, clearing out the clutter we've let pile up near the altar. But it starts with looking. God doesn't drag the idol out before we've even seen it — he invites us to lift our eyes and admit it's there.

So maybe that's the prayer this morning. Lord, show me what I've set up near the altar. And then — gently, the way only you can — help me take it down. Look north today. See what's there. Grace is already at work.