Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)
Ps 4: 3a “But know that Yahweh has set apart the holy one for Himself;…” (LSB)
In Hebrew, the word for “holy” is “qodesh”. Like many of the words that we translate over into English, the original word in Hebrew has a number of meanings and we try to summarize it nicely to the word that most closely matches in our language, but in doing so we also sometimes lose a lot of the “flavor” that the original word encompasses. We translate “qodesh” as “holy”, but it also means “seperated”, “set aside”, and “set apart”. When we read the above verse with that in mind, you can also read it as “Yahweh has set apart the set apart one for Himself” entirely accurately. It’s a clever word play.
But what does that mean? It’s simple, look around you at our society. We live in a world that is rife with sin, carnal images, narcissistic encouragements, pride, immorality, etc. It’s everywhere. We are a people that has largely forgotten about our God, it’s painfully apparent in almost every aspect of our society. God wants us to set ourselves apart from all of this, to remember and honor Him, and to obey His will. In return, He promises that He will set apart for Himself those who set themselves apart. But how are we to do that?
Ps 4:4-5 “Tremble, and do not sin. Ponder in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And trust in Yahweh.” (LSB)
The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom (Pr 9:10). Fear, and do not sin. Think about God as you’re laying in your bed, and be still. Another translation of “be still” is “quit kicking”, which I’m personally a fan of. This is all about attitude and understanding your place. Acknowledge God as not only your creator, but the creator and master of ALL THINGS, He’s in charge and you’re not. A roommate of mine in college had a fantastic poster that read “2 Foundation Facts for Human Englightment: 1 There is a God, 2 You are not Him.”.
Are you living a righteous life? That is the sacrifice that God requires, not the cattle on a thousand hills, not a specific percentage of your income, not writing the big checks you see on TV that take 2 people to even hold up, but righteousness. It’s a sacrifice, you put aside some of the things you think you’d like to do to set yourself apart and obey God.
Do you trust God? Our society has taught us to trust in ourselves, to trust in the system, to trust authorities, and to trust in our abilities but has largely obscured this critical aspect of trusting in our creator. There are a thousand and one things to distract us, to divert us, to capture our attention and take it away from this critical foundational concept of trusting the God that made us. I will put forth for your consideration that anything you trust in more than God has become an idol to you. Anything that you delight in more than God can become an idol to you, and cause you to focus on things aside from our heavenly Father.
God specifically and repeatedly tells us not to have idols, not to focus on things that are worthless, and remember Him. We look back in history at some of the false gods that the Israelites worshipped and just shake our heads. Then we go back to watching TV, getting on social media, watching movies, trying to get ahead at work, playing video games, reading books, getting a better car/house/mate…anything that diverts and distracts us from what our real job should be; setting ourselves apart and offering up to God the sacrifice of our righteousness and trust. If any of those things is taking more of your focus than you are giving to God, it has become an idol to you. I will tell you a painful reality: if you swim for too long in the sewer, you’re going to smell like poop. Everything that takes your attention away from God is the sewer.
I do trust God, because do you remember the story of the prodigal son? That was me. My Father came running down the road to greet me when I started coming back to Him. I am ashamed that I ever turned aside, and humbled that despite my vast unworthiness, my God came running to me the moment I started back towards Him. I promise, if you have veered off the path, return to God. He will come running to meet you.
In our Matt 18 reading today, in 18:12-14 is the parable of that lost sheep. That was me, too. God came looking for me when I was lost, and found me. Notably, He found me when I pointed my head back in His direction because I heard Him calling; if I would have kept wandering away, who knows what would have happened? In Luke 15:7 it says that when that lost sheep is found, there is rejoicing in heaven. I get a little choked up just thinking about it, God cares so much about me, about you, about all of us, that He is actively seeking us to find ways to bring us home. There is rejoicing in heaven when we start heading back towards God. This should melt your heart, when you realize the depth of love and compassion that our creator has towards us.
So what about you? Are you trusting in the God that loves you and offering up the sacrifice of righteousness to Him? Have the idols of this present evil age distracted you? Are you playing on the field, and not spectating from the seats in the game of life? Here are a few practical daily tips to help you focus on and trust God.
- Pray. Not just at meals, but when you wake up, when you shower, before you go to bed, while you’re driving. Let your heart be melted by the love God has shown to you, and reciprocate it back towards God.
- READ SCRIPTURE! Daily.
- Fast occasionally. It doesn’t even have to be food, take a break from some of the things that distract you from God and spend that time seeking God instead. Man does not live by bread alone, but he also doesn’t live by TV, social media, or anything else that isn’t something that comes out of God’s mouth.
- Love others. God doesn’t just want us to love Him, He says that one of the ways that we can show Him that love is to love the rest of His creation. This includes jerks, hostile enemies, addicts, ugly people, people with different cultures and colors, that person who uses weird pronouns, that guy who took your parking spot, the lady who was gossiping about you at work…every other living being is a creation of God, and by loving them (whether we agree with them or not), we honor God.
- Do you want to find Jesus? He’s probably in the parking lot at Walmart, and he’s probably hungry. Go buy him a sandwich. (Matt 25:40). Or maybe he’s lonely, in a nursing home, and wants a visit. Or maybe he’s doing time in prison and needs to talk. Or maybe, he’s a lonely widow who can’t mow their own lawn because they’re feeble. Maybe he just needs a ride. Go find him.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- What are your idols?
- How can you do better at “setting yourself apart”?
- What is your biggest obstacle to living a righteous life? How can you change that?
- Do you trust God more than yourself? Why, or why not?
PRAYER:
Father God, you have been faithful and kind to me throughout my entire life. Thank you. Please help me to focus on you, to remove the things that distract my focus, and to live a life that pleases you. Help me to be a servant who pleases his master. Lord, look deep in my heart and show me my flaws, and help me to remove them so that I can love you fully. Thank you for sending us your son. Please forgive me of my flaws, and lead me to You, in Jesus name, amen.
Seek Grow Love 