Morning Devotion 01/12/2025

Psalm 115:9-13 "O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great."

I encourage you to read all of Psalm 115. The first and last verse reveal that it is all about glorifying God: "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake" (Psalm 115:1). "But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD" (Psalm 115:18). The psalmist teaches us to glorify God by contrasting life and lifelessness throughout the psalm. He contrasts God with the lifeless idols of the heathen. Then, at the end of the chapter, he speaks of our life, and how no man can praise Him in the grave. That is to say that we must glorify God in this life while we have the chance.

God Is Life

God is life. He is the Creator of all things. "In him we all move and breathe and have our being." He gave us life, and life is a glorious thing because it came from a glorious God. Everything that has its source in God glorifies God. In contrast, everything that has its source in man glorifies man. Idols are the creation of our hands, and they speak to the skill of the creator of them. Men have high regard for them because they dreamed them up, because they formed them, because they glorify the men who create and worship them. We live in a society that doesn't have idols in the same sense that many do, but we have idols all the same.

Modern Idolatry

We have things we have created for ourselves, things we sacrifice to, things that we regard as more important than God Himself. Those things, whether they be hobbies, jobs, savings accounts, or any other thing, can be an idol. We have them to serve us, protect us, comfort us, give us joy, and yet all these things are things that we should find in our God. Like the idolaters of old, we think that our idols will keep us safe, keep us fed, keep us content, and drive away all the dark clouds. In short, we trust in them. But read our text: "O Israel, trust thou in the LORD…" "O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD…" "Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD…" When we trust in things or people more than the Lord, we are flirting with idolatry, and we are trusting in lifeless gods, instead of God, the source of all real life.

He Is Mindful of Us

The things that we spend so much of our time thinking about have no ability to think of us. We spend decades with our minds consumed with this, and that, and those things have no ability or life to regard you for even one second. But when our hearts and minds and lives are consumed with thoughts of God, then you are investing in a God that can think of you as well: "The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us." Idols, whether they be statues or bank accounts, take no thought of their creator—they are lifeless. But God, He is ever mindful of those who fear and worship Him.

Where are you investing your life? In lifeless things you've created? Or in the living God who can help you, shield you, bless you, and thinks of you more often than you think of Him? Answer these questions, and you'll know whether or not your life is being spent to the glory of God or the glory of self.