A few months ago, Vicki Courtney, hosted a writing contest on her blog. I submitted an article and it was chosen to be featured on her Virtuous Reality website! The article was to be written with teenage girls in mind. Here's what I submitted:
They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass. They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt. Psalm 106:20-21
In Psalm 106:20-21, the Psalmist is reminding us of a time when the children of Israel turned their backs on God. If you know the story, you know that God miraculously delivered them out of slavery. God actually parted the Red Sea so the children of Israel could escape, and then He used that same body of water to drown the army that was pursuing them. After all of that, God told Moses to come up on the mountain so that He could give him the laws which they were to live by. It was during this 40-day period, while Moses was on the mountain with God, that the children of Israel began worshipping a bull. They forgot all the great things that God had done.
It’s so easy for us to look back at the children of Israel and think, How could they? I mean, he was only gone for 40 days. That’s just over a month. How could they forget all the miraculous things that God had done in such a short period?
Are we really any different?
Are you as close to God as you were when you first gave your life to Him? When you go to a great youth camp this summer and you come back ready to be the shining light in your school, how long will that light shine, a month, 2 months? How long will it be before you resign to the thought, One person can’t make a difference so I might as well not even try?
You don’t have to exchange your Glory for the bull! Now you may be thinking, Do you really think I would bow down to a bull? No, I don’t, but I do believe that we can allow things to take the place of God in our lives, and when we do that, we are giving up the Glory that God wants to get from our lives. To put this in today’s life, the scripture might read something like this:
She exchanged her Glory for a boyfriend, which “loves” her with a selfish, imperfect love.
Or
She exchanged her Glory for popularity, which will cause her to seek the approval of others rather than the approval of God.
Or
She exchanged her Glory for pursuit of physical beauty, which will leave her insecure and in a perpetual state of comparing herself with others.
Or
She exchanged her Glory for an intimate relationship, which will leave her emotionally scarred, with a sense of worthlessness and could even lead to pregnancy, disease or even infertility.
You see, God is saying to you, “Don’t give Me that bull, that boyfriend, those friendships or anything else because none of those things can take MY place in your life.” If you will put God in His rightful place in your life, He will get so much Glory.
Let’s make a new commitment today to keep God in His rightful place in our lives.
They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass. They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt. Psalm 106:20-21
In Psalm 106:20-21, the Psalmist is reminding us of a time when the children of Israel turned their backs on God. If you know the story, you know that God miraculously delivered them out of slavery. God actually parted the Red Sea so the children of Israel could escape, and then He used that same body of water to drown the army that was pursuing them. After all of that, God told Moses to come up on the mountain so that He could give him the laws which they were to live by. It was during this 40-day period, while Moses was on the mountain with God, that the children of Israel began worshipping a bull. They forgot all the great things that God had done.
It’s so easy for us to look back at the children of Israel and think, How could they? I mean, he was only gone for 40 days. That’s just over a month. How could they forget all the miraculous things that God had done in such a short period?
Are we really any different?
Are you as close to God as you were when you first gave your life to Him? When you go to a great youth camp this summer and you come back ready to be the shining light in your school, how long will that light shine, a month, 2 months? How long will it be before you resign to the thought, One person can’t make a difference so I might as well not even try?
You don’t have to exchange your Glory for the bull! Now you may be thinking, Do you really think I would bow down to a bull? No, I don’t, but I do believe that we can allow things to take the place of God in our lives, and when we do that, we are giving up the Glory that God wants to get from our lives. To put this in today’s life, the scripture might read something like this:
She exchanged her Glory for a boyfriend, which “loves” her with a selfish, imperfect love.
Or
She exchanged her Glory for popularity, which will cause her to seek the approval of others rather than the approval of God.
Or
She exchanged her Glory for pursuit of physical beauty, which will leave her insecure and in a perpetual state of comparing herself with others.
Or
She exchanged her Glory for an intimate relationship, which will leave her emotionally scarred, with a sense of worthlessness and could even lead to pregnancy, disease or even infertility.
You see, God is saying to you, “Don’t give Me that bull, that boyfriend, those friendships or anything else because none of those things can take MY place in your life.” If you will put God in His rightful place in your life, He will get so much Glory.
Let’s make a new commitment today to keep God in His rightful place in our lives.
