Wednesday 23 Aug 2017

August 23: Habakkuk 2:18-20

Key Verse: Habakkuk 2:18
Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman? Or an image that teaches lies? For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.

Devotion:
When it is put so plainly, it just seems so stupid... and yet people continue to worship idols in the belief that by making a shape of their god, their god will somehow inhabit their statue or at least be there with their statue. It may sound ridiculous to many of us, and yet many will put their trust in things they have made up yet will not accept the truth and put their trust in the One True God. By putting our trust in something we have made, we are doing nothing more than opening ourselves to all manner of things that we have not yet thought of.

It does not matter how much we put into the making of our idols, they will never live up to our expectations. We will never get more out of them than we put into them. Idols don't just have to be statues which we build and bow down to as a god. Idols are things we hold up as being more important than God. Idols are things which take us away from giving God the glory. Idols are things we do, things we make, excuses we invent just to be able to walk in the opposite direction – away from God. Idols are things which do not have real life in them. On the other hand, your idol may well be alive, but they cannot give what God can give. Our idols we invent do nothing more than fulfil the pleasure at that moment in time. They are nothing more than a stop-gap to bide our time until we get bored or until we see them in the light. An idol always looks good on the outside, but inside is nothing...

God is our One True God who is in His holy temple in heaven. He is the one who is constantly looking after us. He is the one who is keeping us alive. He is the one who is alive, the one we can trust, the one we can believe, the one whom we can prayer to knowing He will answer!

Points to Ponder:
What are your favourite things you do?

How many of them keep you from worshipping God?