Have you ever thought, “Wow everything is perfect. My life is going exactly how it should be. I love my family, I love my friends, I love God, I love everything!” That’s precisely how I felt last summer. In my book, it was the best summer ever. I couldn’t believe how much God had blessed me.

But then He took it away from me. Why? Why on earth would God take my (so-called) perfect life and take away what was most dear to me at the time? I don’t understand it. Was God not happy with the life I was living? I thought I was going down the right path. The problem begins there, because I can think what I’m doing is moral and pleasing to God. “People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives.” (Proverbs 16:2) God saw through what I was doing, even when I fully couldn’t see what I was doing.

It’s funny- when I entered a relationship with this guy last summer, I had every intention of making Christ its foundation. I did at the beginning of the relationship, but at some point I started losing sight on what God had in mind. Slowly I was trading in my intimate, personal, burning passionate relationship with God for another relationship that could never satisfy. I exchanged unfailing unconditional love for a love that ultimately failed because it wasn’t love from God. Gradually this relationship was put on a pedestal, and I began to worship it by giving it all of my time and letting it consume my every thought. It became my idol.

God, being rightfully jealous, took this relationship away from me. At first I was devastated. What do I do with my time now? I was spending time with this guy every second I could and then he was gone. So the pedestal became vacant, but it caused me to look down and realize who I had forgotten and left behind- God. And He is the one who deserves all my attention, all my love, all my praise, and all the glory. He comes first. I gave Him nothing even close to that. But isn’t it wonderful to know that even though our God is a jealous God who can take away everything, He is also a merciful God who says, “O repentant sinner come to me. I will make you as white as snow and I will supply you with all you need. From now on your heart beats for me.” My prayer is that your heart would only beat for God.