Swhw Bible Reading Plan: AprilSample

Top Takeaway from Emily Copeland:

Jeremiah 2:5, "This is what the Lord says: 'What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves."

Jeremiah was speaking about Israel, but his words also preach to us in 2021. 

Here is the bottom line of his message: We are addicted to worship. 

We worship the things that we believe will give us worth, and when we follow worthless things, we will feel worthless.

I remember very early on in my marriage that I would allow my husband to determine the outcome of my day. If my relationship with him was good that day, then I was happy. If we had an argument, or if he didn't pay enough attention to me, I would find myself totally distraught.

There was a day where I realized that I had been worshipping my husband-- placing all of my worth in how he treated me, and how good or bad our relationship was. I didn't know that you could worship a spouse, but I found out pretty quickly that you can, and most of us do in some way, shape, or form. 

For the record: My husband isn't worthless, but my husband isn't God.  

"They followed worthless idols..." What we worship determines the direction of our lives. We end up where we are because of what we worship. Every bad choice is a result of worshipping the wrong thing. 

After working in vocational ministry for almost 13 years, it's undoubtedly one of the greatest frustrations to Christians in their walk with God-- we keep ending up in the same places, with the same hang-ups, feeling desperate for worth, and longing to find worth in our work or in the people we love. 

The Israelites valued idols that they could see, and worship that made them feel better about themselves. We worship what we love and value the most, but if that isn't God, then we will always be left feeling worthless. 

There is only one thing worthy of worship: God.

We are designed to worship God alone and He is the only God who can give us what we are looking for.

The world may offer a beautiful picture of what is worthy of worship (self, people, careers, etc.), but every form of worship is a dead-end apart from God.  

To find real, long-lasting, and true worth requires taking the path that was designed by God, not a path that we design for ourselves. Don't forget; God's fullness is available to us. Will we accept it and worship God alone? Or will we forfeit His fullness and pursue worthless idols?

It starts here: repent of our misplaced worship, and choose to worship HIM first. 

We do this by prioritizing our relationship with God, asking for His input in every area of our lives, and trusting Him with it all. We worship Him by giving Him the glory for everything and by understanding that our worth is not something we can create or find here, but that it is found in God and in our identity as His girl.

Worship One Name today and let all of the other idols fall away. You are worthy because He says so. Give Him all the praise that you've got! 

God, thank You for never giving up on us no matter how many times we've worshipped other people or things. Help us to take the next right step today to repent of our misplaced worship and to put all of our gratitude and energy towards worshipping YOU alone. You are more than worthy. We love You. Amen.