Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” [ESV]
A number of people like to come up with a “word for the year.” Recently I’ve heard words like intentional, confidence, fearless. The first word coming to my mind was tired. But I don’t think that’s a very good word on which to base the next 365 days! Thankfully, another word has emerged.
The prophet Jeremiah warned Israel against following the stubbornness of their hearts rather than God. He told them it leads to idol worship, and idol worship leads to destruction. He couldn’t understand what caused his nation to cut out pieces of wood, overlay them with silver, then worship these lifeless objects as “gods” (Jer. 10).
Our proclivity as fallen people veers toward relying on anything but God. We rely instead on our wisdom, our strength, or our wealth. We carve them out of our experiences. Then we overlay them with a heavy coat of deception and mistakenly think these gods of self-reliance will protect us from uncertainty. They will somehow provide the security we long for. And it may work for a while.
But Jeremiah cautions us about the danger of boasting in any other thing than knowing God. Nothing has the power to lead us successfully through life than knowing the kindness, justice and righteousness of the Lord. The more we recognize his nature working in the world, the more we understand his character. The more we understand his character, the more we know him, love him, and worship him as the only true God.
So my word for 2019: God-reliance. I want to prioritize seeking him in everything I do, from the least part of the day to the most significant. I want to be more alert in recognizing his kindness in hurting situations, his justice in stopping evil, and his righteousness in turning the worst of situations into something eternally worthwhile.
God-reliance is where I want to live this year. How about you?