Our hearts are prone to idolatry. They are allured by the local, functional, manageable nature of graven images. God's people played the harlot with idols, effecting the crisis of exile. Jeremiah challenges their "handmade cisterns," which they traded for the Living God. Unfortunately, idolatry is not only a "thing" problem, it is also a theology problem. Having an errant or insufficient view of God makes Him into an idol of the mind. We must avoid these graven images and embrace the Heavenly Father.

Crisis will come in life. We cannot escape it; there is no crisis-proofing life. However, when we view crisis as God's curriculum for a resilient faith and take action through trust, prayer, reason, and perseverance, we see God use hard times for His good. Joseph serves as a profile of resilient faith. His personal crises - betrayal, slavery, slander, imprisonment, and separation from his father - build his trust in God and allow him to help others.

God calls us to kill the bitter root growing within our hearts (not kill our enemies). We all have traces of bitterness, whether directed toward politicians, celebrities, or people who have slighted us in our past. This emotion is not foreign to the Bible. In fact, God's people felt bitter rage in a foreign land. "By the streams of Babylon, I sat down and wept," beings one of the rawest psalms. It moves from bitter weeping to nostalgia to rage. God hears our rage, and asks us to hand it to Him.

When darkness covers the Psalmist (n 88), he cries out to God. There is nowhere else to go; neither is there any guarantee God will help him. His friends have deserted him. His health is has failed him. He laments. God invites us to cry out to him in times of personal crisis. We must learn to speak our griefs to the God who saves, even if our circumstances remain grim.

Psalm 24 anticipates the arrival of God, preparing the worshiper to receive the King of Glory. Clean hands and pure heart are required of those approaching God. While He does not expect perfection, He does desire penitence. Whether God is returning from battle or showing up on Sunday, he wants His people to seek Him eagerly.