April 5, 2025 Devo

For those of us old enough to remember 9/11, something happened to us in the wake of that event. We became APPRECIATIVE. We watched in horror that day as the Twin Towers went down with a massive loss of life. Many people went to work that day in those towers and were trapped inside with no way out. The heartbreaking images of people trying to escape are forever etched in our memories.
But there were others who died that day as well. They were our firefighters and police officers who voluntarily went into those buildings to try to save others. We always knew these public servants were important. But that was the day we REALLY knew it. After 9/11 you saw people thanking firefighters, police officers, and military personnel for their service. People tried to buy meals for them, give gifts to them, and basically just expressed gratitude to them. We wanted to honor them. It wasn’t that they weren’t always worthy of being honored. They were. But it took a catastrophe to open our eyes to that fact.
I thought of that time when I read our verse today. David reminded me that we don’t always treat God the way He deserves. He is our Creator. He is the Artist who designed this amazing world and gave us eyes to see it and lives to enjoy it. He is our Protector who watches over us and responds to us 24/7, whenever we call upon Him. He is the God who has entered our Fallen World and died a horrible death to save us. Yet, we take Him for granted almost every day.
Can we be honest? It usually takes a catastrophe for us to fully acknowledge Him. We can roll right along without giving much thought to God when everything is going well. But let a health crisis, financial crisis, or relational crisis come along. Then we call out to God, cling to God, and thank Him over and over as He rescues us. But soon our lives go back to normal, and God gets set on the shelf until the next disaster comes. Like our first responders, we usually only give God due honor when He bails us out.
But that’s not how it should be. God deserves honor. He deserves our attention, our respect, our loyalty, and our love. He deserves to be recognized, appreciated, and worshipped. His Place is above all others in our lives, and His Name is above all names. He deserves our deepest gratitude and our highest praise. Even when He hasn’t just rescued us from a disaster. That’s God’s Word for you today.