Idols That Desert

READ Psalm 16:1–6. 1 Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” 3 I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” 4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips. 5 LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. 6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

IDOLS THAT DESERT. We may not believe in literal divine god-beings of beauty, wealth, pleasure, or fertility. But we must all live for something, and if we live for and love any thing more than God himself, we are trapped. They become things we have to have, so we “run,” exhausted, after them. But this leads to increasing suffering (verse 4), for life inevitably takes them from us. Instead we must make God our portion (our real wealth), our cup (our real pleasure), our ultimate good.

Prayer: Lord, I want the gifts of your hand more than the glory of your face. I can root my happiness in amusements, music, food, or nice weather. But let suffering enter the picture, and they show themselves as the tawdry baubles that they are. Without your constant presence and favor, no thing is a “good thing.” So I receive them with thanks, but I rest my heart and hope in you.

Praise

Lord we praise you for being who you are and we thank you Lord for doing what you do!
You have watched over us thru seen and unseen dangers, we thank you for your watchful care!

We thank you for this day. We thank you for these prayer warriors. We thank you for this time of prayer. 

Amen.

Keller, Timothy. The Songs of Jesus: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms (p. 22). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.