He Alone is Worthy of Our Praise

“Great and Marvelous are your deeds,

Lord God Almighty.

Just and true are your ways.

King of the ages.

Who will not fear you, O Lord,

And bring glory to your name?

For you alone are holy.

All nations will come

And worship before you,

For your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Revelation 15:3-4

Though many won’t admit it, we all idolize or worship something or someone.  Some people worship money and materialism. Some worship success and notoriety. Others worship celebrities or sport starts.  Some worship food or sexual pleasure, beauty or brains, or a whole host of other things. The list could go on and on.  Whatever becomes our idol will become our primary motivation for life.

God created us with a “God shaped vacuum” as the philosopher Blaise Pascal described, that only God can fill. I think of it as a divine ache – an ache prompting us to worship and adore someone bigger than ourselves. The only one who can perfectly fill that god shaped vacuum and heal that divine ache is God Himself.   Only Jesus Christ is worthy of all our praise. Any other idol will disappoint.   

The apostle John had a vision in which myriads of people were being given harps and began to worship the Lamb. The song that they sang is called, “the song of the Lamb” and it is written above.  In their song the worshippers sang, “you alone”. I love those words! They describe the fact that we serve a God unlike any god.  There is no other god, He is God alone!  In this day of tolerance we often hear, that it’s great to worship Jesus Christ, “if that works for you.” One young man verbalized to my son, “Being a Christian works for me, but maybe being Bhuddist works for my friends.”   No! There is one God and we worship Him alone. He has revealed Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ. He alone has risen from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God the Father. He alone is worthy of all our praise.

Praise Challenge:

Before you begin your praise time today, sit quietly before the Lord. Think through the people or things that you have idolized.   With what have you tried to satisfy the divine ache in your soul? Maybe it’s been your spouse, or maybe your children. Maybe it’s been with material things. Maybe you’ve tried to fill that longing with TV, movies, or novels.   Maybe you’ve tried to fill that longing with food.   Write down whatever comes to mind.    Confess to the Lord that you have tried to fill that God shaped vacuum with something, or someone other than Him.  Then spend your praise time praising Him that He – Jesus Christ, alone can satisfy the deepest longings of your heart.  Use the phrase,  “You alone” in your praise time. Continue to use that phrase throughout the day declaring, “Lord Jesus, You alone can meet my deepest needs and longings.” 

Additional challenge:  Try fasting whatever you have tended to fill that divine ache with. To fast something is to deny yourself so that you might become more hungry for God alone. You can fast T.V., food, social media, or any other pleasure. (Now please note; You can’t fast your husband or children…….but, you can remind yourself that they cannot fill that God shaped vacuum!:)