Enduring Hope for the DisillusionedSýnishorn

Throughout the Bible, we read of the shocking prevalence of idolatry. Despite God’s desire for proximity and relationship, Israel constantly traded the real thing for counterfeits: whether they were golden cows, poles, or wooden carvings.

It’s tempting to scoff at their worship of inanimate objects. The prophet Jeremiah scornfully derided these men and women as “stupid and foolish” (Jeremiah 10:8, NLT). Yet today, our hearts remain equally capable of idol worship, and we suspect Jeremiah’s blunt descriptors apply just as well to modern idolatry.

Though we aren’t bowing to statues or poles, we’d argue from personal experience that the temptation to idolize our gifts and abilities—rather than put our faith in the Giver of those gifts and abilities—is just as dangerous. We constantly face the temptation to embrace our culture’s obsession with self-improvement and self-reliance, placing our trust in our own abilities, grit, and resilience, especially when facing difficult circumstances. Yet these virtues make a faulty foundation.

Jeremiah’s ancient words to the people of Judah resonate with contemporary truth as he calls out their idols and offers an alternative.

Jeremiah observed God’s people growing out of touch, picking the wrong soil, rooting themselves not in God but in the illusion of their self-sufficiency. That’s also true today, as we’re tempted to place our confidence in our abilities. It’s pride and, Jeremiah would suggest, idolatry.

We bow to the idol of our abilities, but this type of humanism falters when seasons of drought arrive. Our good intentions are never good enough to sustain us for the inevitable seasons of deep disappointment and hurt.

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God invites us to pursue the alternative of “in my own strength” humanism: to rely on God’s strength and faithfulness. He invites us to find hope in seasons of drought because He is the One who sustains. He is the One who nourishes and invites us to cultivate deep roots that reach the ever-flowing Source of living water.

Jeremiah teaches us that the difference between a fruit-bearing tree and a brittle shrub is not about our own strength. It’s not about a new model of self-help. Instead, it’s about deep trust, connection, and reliance on God— especially in harsh conditions.