Daily Devotional For Friday, August 14, 2026
Good morning Southside! It’s Friday and your weekend to rest and relax is almost here. Our daily devotional for today comes from Jeremiah 51:15-19:
“The LORD made the earth by his power, and He preserves it by His wisdom. With His own understanding He stretched out the heavens. (16) When He speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses. (17) The whole human race is foolish and has no knowledge! The craftsmen are disgraced by the idols they make, for their carefully shaped works are a fraud. These idols have no breath or power. (18) Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies! On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed. (19) But the God of Israel is no idol! He is the Creator of everything that exists, including His people, His own special possession. The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is His name!” (NLT).
Jeremiah 50-51 is actually one long prophecy about the destruction of Babylon. In this passage, God destroyed His people all except a remnant living in now Persia, who formerly conquered Babylon. The prophet reminds the people that it was their idolatry that caused God to do this to them. They followed and worshipped idols made by hands. The wood used to carve the idol has once been part of a living tree, now cut down and dead, as the piece of wood. How foolish was it for God’s people to think and believe that an idol, possibly carved by their own hands, was a god, a deity.
In comparison God used Jeremiah here to remind the people that it was the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob that created this universe and the heavens. It was their God who sent the rain and storms, not some handmade idol that is dead. How foolish it was for His people to think their handmade idols were actually gods. And even if they thought their handmade god was a symbol of a god, that god was no god at all. It had no life, no power and no ability to do anything except look like some “toy” carved out of dead wood. How foolish it was for God’s people to go after these handmade dead idols, some made by their own hands. It was ridiculous because they took a piece of wood and carved the shape of an idol from it. In Genesis, God took dirt and shaped us into His image.
Are we any different today? We may not have some statue of a god in our homes, but we do have gods like pay, possessions, people, positions, power, pets, prestige and privilege. We like our titles and many times they become a god to us. Jeremiah reminds us that one day all of our manmade gods will be destroyed. They are worthless and ridiculous to bow to in our lives. If you want to know what is a god in your life, let the Lord take it from you as He did His people in Jeremiah’s day and you may know what is your god.
Reflection Assignment: Sometimes it is hard for us to know what may be an idol in our lives. We have family relationships that are so loved and tight, to lose one of them through death would be devastating. If they are an idol, you quit on God and blame Him. You stop serving Him out of anger, bitterness and resentment. If like Job, God took everything from you but your salvation, how do you imagine you would respond and why?
Scripture To Meditate On: 1 Chronicles 29:11, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is Yours, O Lord, and this is Your kingdom. We adore You as the One who is over all things” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, forgive me when I chase and worship other gods such as pay, possessions, a position, people, pets, power, privilege and prestige. I know in my head there are no other gods, but at times in my heart, I live as if they are other gods beside You. If you took everything from me as You did Job, I would still praise, worship and serve You. Please forgive me for pursuing any other fraudulent god. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly