Oh Yeah?

Psalm 96

There is a scene that plays out in countless school yards all over the world. One child makes a claim that another child finds difficult to believe. Soon someone is bound to say, “Oh yeah? Well, prove it!” Do what it is that you say you can do: climb that wall, lift that rock, prove you can do what you say you can.

Create the universe! That’s the implied challenge of Psalm 96. “For all the gods of the people are idols, but the Lord made the heavens” (v. 5). The God of Israel has already done something that none of the other gods could ever do. “The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved” (v. 10b). Why bother following after a statue carved out of stone or made of gold? Why worship an inanimate object when the God who made all things is alive in your midst? Why give praise to the created when you can instead give praise to the creator?

Where do we put our confidence? In our money, or in the God who created all things? Where do we put our faith? In buildings and roads and bridges, or in the God who made the earth firm? Where do we place our hope? In the use of drugs or stimulants, or in the God of all nature? Obviously, we must choose carefully because confidence, faith, or hope placed in a modern day idol is wasted. On the other hand, the God who created all things is capable of using all things according to God’s will and to God’s glory. Money is not an evil thing, nor are buildings and roads, nor are pharmaceuticals when used properly. The problem comes when we see these or other objects as ultimate and fail to see the God who stands over and above all creation as the source of all that is.

Only God can answer the challenge to create the heavens. Only God can provide us with all that we need to live our lives to God’s glory. Idols will mock us with their blank stares, but God goes on creating and redeeming as an active participant in our lives. Who is the Lord of all? The God of Israel is the Lord of all and this God’s creative power is all the proof we need.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the world you have created and for all that you continue to provide. In Jesus’ name. Amen.