Today’s Scripture: Psalms 97 & Exodus 17:1-7 and Hebrews 3:7-11
Good morning, Beloved,
Before we begin our study on Psalm 97, I wanted to share a little treasure I found,
Psalms 96-98 are similar in that each celebrate God’s coming as the world’s King, but Psalm 96 and Psalm 98 focus on what is in store for this world when God returns, while Psalm 97 emphasizes The Lord's attributes.
I loved how these 3 psalms we'll be studying together this week are actually connected. This psalm easily boasts of Jehovah's greatness, but it was verse 7 in this Psalm that grabbed my attention, but let us first start at the beginning for I’d like you to notice how the writer has ‘sandwiched’ verse 7 into this psalm.
"The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!
Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around.
His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.
Zion hears and is glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O Lord.
For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
O you who love the Lord, hate evil.He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,and give thanks to his holy name!" (Ps. 97:1-12)
I found it odd that being sandwiched in this amazing psalm was verse 7, "All who worship idols are put to shame, those who boast in idols - worship Him..."
Psalm 97 sets up a great argument as to why we should be put to shame for trusting in any idols, but do we? I clearly believe the writer was attempting to address those who worshiped carved wooden images, but I believe there are unseen idols that vie for our attention everyday!
Idol is defined as a person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or revered.
Tim Keller states in his book Counterfeit Gods, an idol is “anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, and anything that you seek to give you what only God can give.”
Bottom line, an idol can be anything that takes the place of God as the most important focus and priority in our life.
Below is a list of a few "idols" that instantly came to mind, (probably because I find myself having to deal with them at times), but this is definitely not an exhausted list. Feel free to share other idols that come to your mind with us.
1.) Self - Those struggling with this idol filter everything through the lens of how it affects them rather than if it's God will or not. We can become embarrassed, angry when our so called rights are impacted, etc. We can look at our schedule first rather than seek God’s will when asked to do something.
2.) Others Approval - God created as social beings, to live in an interdependent community with one another. Therefore, it’s normal to want to belong. The problem arises, however, when we place our desire to be liked above our relationship with God, and we are held back from doing or saying something we clearly know God has called us to because we fear how others will react.
3.) Relationships - Spouses, Parents, Children, Friends, etc. Trouble arises when we look to others to meet the void in our heart that is only meant to be filled by God, Himself. God is infinite and we are finite. God cannot fail, but people often will. God's love is unconditional, where we often place conditions on our love for others. I could go on, but the bottom line is, when we look to others to fill our needs, we are setting ourselves up for disappointments, but The Lord has promised us that He will never fail us. If we look to Him to fill us up then we can go meet the needs of others together.
4.) Success - We often, when meeting someone for the first time, seek to find out what they do, but truly our worth should be in Christ alone. Our worth is not found in what we do, but in who we are - a daughter of the King.
5.) Wealth - What we own; money, home(s), possessions. Yet, all could be wiped out tomorrow. I'm not saying we should not save for the future, but that it should not be where we place our trust.
6.) Health - down through the centuries it has been believed that we are blessed if we have great health, and it's good to do what we can to improve our health. Increased strength and energy often leads to enhanced productivity. The problem arises when wellness shifts from a tool to an object of our worship.
7.) Comfort - This one can take on a large realm of possibilities, from talking to friends rather than crossing the isle to welcome a stranger, to vacationing at the beach rather than going to help with disaster relief efforts... you get the picture. We like comfort, but it can become a problem when it prevents us from stepping out to do what God has called us to do.
I've given you seven, but there are many more idols that don't take on any tangible form, but are just as dangerous. I believe Jesus is the anecdote for every idol that seeks to control our heart and affections. The more we lean into Him, prioritize our time with Him, and surrender to Him, the more He fills our hearts with good things so that there is no room for anything else.
So, let me ask you...
_ From the list above which one or ones do you most struggle with?
_ What consumes your time each day?
_ What can you begin to do to tear down the idols in your life?
Let's Pray:
O Father, first of all forgive me for the idols that have taken up space in my heart where only You should be! Forgive me for the times, I've failed to do the things You clearly called me to do because of the idols I've given precedence to. O Father, You are mighty, God Most High and above all the earth. May you reign in my heart as You reign over all creation. May You fill my heart with all of Your being so that there cannot be any room for anything else and together, may we go bless this world. Amen.
Blessings,
Sue