Encouragement for Your Week: May 31-June 6
This Week’s Verse
"Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord, who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols."
— Psalm 40:4 (NLT)
Devotion
We usually think of "idols" as gold statues or ancient carvings, but in today’s world, they look a lot different. Most people around us aren't bowing to stone figures; instead, they are chasing things they’ve built with their own hands or bank accounts. It’s easy to get caught up in it. We often push God to the side to make room for things that feel more urgent or exciting.
The Bible is pretty clear in Deuteronomy 6:4-5: "The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength."
In plain English? God wants to be #1. When we put anything else in that top spot, we’ve created a modern-day idol.
An idol is simply anything we decide to live for instead of God. It’s whatever we serve first. We’ve all been there—maybe it’s:
Skipping church every weekend for sports.
Missing time with family just to chase a promotion or a bigger paycheck.
Giving up our values just to be popular or famous.
When we do this, we’re actually being a bit proud. We’re basically telling God, "I know what makes me happy better than You do." We trade eternal peace for things that disappear in a heartbeat.
When we choose these "temporary" gods, we miss out on the real deal. The prophet Isaiah once joked about how silly it is to make your own god—after all, how can something you created actually help you when life gets tough? It can't.
But when we put our trust in the Lord, the vibe changes completely. In Psalm 40, David says the blessings of following God are too many to even list. He says if he tried to name every wonderful thing God has done, he’d never finish the story.
The Bottom Line is this…Don’t settle for a "DIY" god that can’t love you back. Put your trust in the Creator, and you’ll find a level of joy that a job, a trophy, or a "like" on social media could never give you.