Psalm 146 - 9.12.23

Scripture

Psalm 146:3-5

Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.  When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.  Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.

Observation

The Psalmist speaks about why we should always give our praise to Jesus, not man.  There is nothing wrong with praising people for their hard work and accomplishments or being inspired by others who do excellent and admirable things in life; however, putting our hope in human beings instead of the Lord will always leave us disappointed and exhausted in the end.  There’s a reason why the first commandment is “Thou shalt not have any other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3)

Application

What is an idol in my life that I am putting above the Lord?

Money, Work, Hobbies, People, Family, Friends, Vacations, Food, Material things, Ourselves and/or our Image on the internet/social media, can all become idols if we are not careful. I also learned recently that Jealousy is an idol too. We must be content with what we have instead of being jealous of what others have.

Like the verse in Psalm says, “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.” Do any of these have the power to save us from our sins? Everything and everyone eventually passes away in this world, but Jesus remains forever. He is our Ultimate Shepherd.  If you didn’t have a chance to listen to the awesome sermon by Pastor Levi on Sunday about the Lord being our Shepherd, I highly encourage you to watch it at this link:  https://youtu.be/Bgd93pizRSE?si=CTk0JnDqWt7x32al

Prayer

Dear Lord,

Please reveal any idols in my life and may I be quick to release anything You are asking me to release, so that You remain #1 on the throne of my heart. You are my ultimate hope and help. May my life imitate the Apostle Paul when he said, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Philippians 3:8).”  Amen.

-Michelle Gaddi