“But the God of Israel is no idol!
He is the Creator of everything that exists,
Including His people, His own special possession.
The Lord Almighty is His name!”
- Jeremiah 51:19
How often do we go about our days without ever thinking about God? It must be pretty high because if our minds were so consumed with God and His Justice and His Grace, then I believe there would be a lot less division. We would all be so enamored with who God is to even do someone else wrong.
How beautiful it would be if we were in utter awe of God all the time.
Of course, that would mean laying aside every other thing we could think about and eat up our time with. Any of our “idols” would have to be tossed away in order to purify our thinking and desires. In theory, this makes sense and is an easy shift, but it is sadly not all that easy.
Living Idols:
It is amazing how quickly our minds can lead us away from thinking about God. You wake up, instantly want to go back to sleep so you do not have to deal with anything, and eventually you get out of bed. You head your way to the bathroom to get ready but first you grab your phone, and you scroll. You scroll some more and continue scrolling. Like after like, post after post, comment after comment.
You make breakfast for yourself and/or others, sit down to eat and pull back out the phone. Scrolling, scrolling, and scrolling. Angry political post, after video of a zoo animal, after someone’s updated relationship status. Photo after photo, someone looks a lot happier with life than you. Despite the knowledge that those smiles, and laughs are many times forced you wonder what you could do to make your life like theirs.
You hit up the gym, people all other, muscles pumping iron, other people’s cloths that look a lot better on them than on you, and the motivational decorations that have ceased to help you. Everyone looks so fit and exactly where you want to be with your body, but you do not have the time like they do.
As you go to work, your thoughts are on the possible promotion that your boss has been teasing you with for months now. So, you work harder, putting in extra hours, doing jobs that are not necessarily yours to do and boom, the promotion goes to someone else. On your drive home you hit every red light possible, and you wonder why you can not make it any further in life.
The problem with living as such goes from one thing to the next in the pursuit of one’s desires without ever looking to the living God who created you. When we desire to have what others post about, when we compare ourselves to others physically wishing to be where they are, or endlessly pursuing advancement in our career. All such things are temporary and distracts us from where God really wants us. Even more sad, if we do think of God during our day, come Sunday we feel ashamed we did not think of Him more, because we realize we treated Him like we do everything else, something to read and scroll past.
The Living God:
There lies the beauty of this hymn in Jeremiah. God is no idol. He is not temporary, and He see’s how amazing you are because He created you. The God of Israel is no idol that sits idle by. He is moving and dynamic, at work in this world and in your like to accomplish His purposes.
He has created everything that exists. The ground beneath you, the trees that sprawl up into the skies, and all the critters that inhabit them! He knows the way you are and why you are the way you are, after all He wired your mind, knowing where every nerve is in you body and how to strike one just right to tickle you. He knows the depths of the ocean like the back of His hand and can freshly paint the sky every day all around the globe. I am convinced the sun set has never been the same anywhere for all time. That is how meticulously He creates.
He knows everyone in the Church, who truly professes and lives like He is Lord.
He is the Lord Almighty. The all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-just, and ever-loving God. He reigns supreme and no matter how tall a tower we could build, nor how healthy a nation we can form, could ever reach and be equal with Him. This is the amazing God that should consume our thoughts.
Final Blessing:
We believe in a living Creator, who is active and desiring us to be in relationship with Him. He wants to be not only laying before us what are day will be like but to walk along with us. Which He will not force against our wills 24/7, but He waits to be thought of and acknowledged. He is no idol, but our Living Creator.
Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you every step, every breathe, and every heart beat of your journey.
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