Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
This is Jeremiah writing to a culture that was consumed with idol worship. And he makes this weighty statement and he says, "Lord, there's no one like you, for you are great." The message that he's sending in the midst of these idols, false idols, is Yahweh is the one and only true God.
That's a pretty weighty statement. And then in verse 8 he says people who worship idols are—the NLT says—"stupid and foolish." So, Jeremiah's calling us to examine our lives for idols.
What Is an Idol?
What's an idol? It's anything that you love more than God. Anything that we value more than God. Now you might be saying, "Well, if you come to my house, I don't have any idols set up. There's no altars in my home." And you're probably right. But if we examine how we spend our money, our time—I mean, just look at your calendar and your checkbook—and that often reveals the idols that we have in our lives.
So, Jeremiah wants us to examine our hearts and our lives for idols. Well, what are some of the idols of our day? We have power, comfort, control, sex, money. These are all idols of our day. And here's the thing: we give ourselves over to these idols so often, and then we feel empty. And the thing about these idols is they over-promise that they're going to satisfy us, and then they under-deliver.
The Problem with False Idols
So we try our jobs. We're like, "Well, I'm going to try to find my satisfaction in my job." And if we fail our jobs, I mean, there's no guarantee that we're going to be forgiven. Then we try our spouses. We place crazy expectations on people and our spouses, and we're like, "Well, I'm going to place these expectations on my spouse and see if I can find satisfaction in my spouse." And as amazing as your spouse can be, if you fail, there's no guarantee that your spouse can forgive you.
Then we try more money, and we're like, "I don't know, I feel like no matter how much money I have, there's never enough," right?
The Only True God
But see, if we give our lives to God, if God is the lover of our souls, what happens if we fail God? Will God forgive us? Absolutely. First John chapter 1 and verse 9 says that, “if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to purify us from all unrighteousness.” See, when we give our lives to God, there's forgiveness. And even if we fail, we can keep running back to Him. Why? Because God desires to be the lover of our souls.
Because if He's not the lover of our souls, something or someone else is. So the call today is to examine our lives and ask ourselves, "What am I gripping onto with everything I've got?" Because whatever that thing is, that's probably your idol.
And the thing about our God is He's a jealous God. He wants every single area of our lives. He wants our mind. He wants our health. He wants our sexuality, our time, our money. He wants all of us because He deserves full surrender. "Lord, there's no one like you, for you are great and your name is full of power."
