You Will Not Be Replaced—Hope Of Glory

I recently was listening to Matt Maher’s latest CD, titled “Overflow.” The bridge says simply this:

“You will not be replaced.

You will not be replaced.

You will not be replaced, Hope of Glory."

Every time this part of the song comes around, I think of how often we try to replace God with other things. We need to realize how prevalent the sin of idolatry is in our lives. We are prone to the sin of idolatry that there are very few things we do not try to elevate above God at one point in our lives. Our flesh is so opposed to the idea of God being first in our lives that there is nothing we will not try to live for more than living for the risen Christ.

By grace we can say that we have devoted our lives to God, but still at times find that we are faced every day with the temptation to forget the truth of Colossians 1:17-18. “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” I do not mean that I am ever consciously thinking: “With what or whom can I replace God today?” The sin of idolatry takes a more subtle approach, by directing my attention and my affections ever more and more to the things of this earth rather than to the things above, than to Christ above.

Yet there is hope in this simple statement: You will not be replaced, Hope of Glory. Our attempts to replace God do not come anywhere close to accomplishing their intent except in our own heart. We may seek to replace Christ in our lives, but that does not change the truth that He is before all things. Though we say to God with both our words and actions, “You are not my God in this moment,” His sure reply is: “I AM.” He is still the hope of glory, which is the assurance that He is going to be glorified, if not by us than by the rocks, by the stars, and by all of creation. If these know that God will not be replaced, how much more should this truth be the starting point of our every day? When we wake in the morning, let our first declaration be one that recognizes God’s position: “Today, you will not be replaced in my heart, hope of glory.”