A God You Made Cannot Help You
By Pastor Jerry A. Burns
Look at the word “make” in this verse. In the Hebrew it is a very common word. It means to do or to fashion something with your hands. It is the same word God uses in Exodus 20:4: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.”
That one word shows the problem Jeremiah is pointing out. A man takes wood or gold and makes a god. But the thing he made can never be greater than the man who made it. It cannot give him what he does not have himself. That is why Jeremiah calls them “no gods” at all.
The true God is the opposite. We did not make Him. He made us. Psalm 100:3 says, “it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves.”
Most of us have never carved an idol. But we can still make gods. We build our lives around a paycheque, a career, a relationship, our good name, or our own plans. We look to them for peace and safety. Then trouble comes, and they have nothing to give us. If you made it, it cannot save you.
Jeremiah knew this. Just before this verse he prayed, “O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction.” When trouble came, he did not run to something a man had made. He ran to the God who made everything.
So where do you run first? When the bad news comes, what do you reach for? Your answer may show you a god you did not know you had made.
Before you go to bed tonight, write down the first thing you lean on when you are worried. Then read Jeremiah 16:19 out loud, and tell the Lord that He alone is your refuge.
"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." — John 14:1
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This Week's Radio Program
Week Eighteen • May 3, 2026
Trusting God With Tomorrow (Pt. 3)
In this final part of the message, “Trusting God with Tomorrow,” we are brought face to face with a powerful truth from Scripture—while we often plan our days and assume the future, the Bible teaches us that life is fragile, uncertain, and completely in God’s hands. As James reminds us, our life is “even a vapour” that appears for a little time and then vanishes away . The issue is not planning, but planning without God—living as though we are in control of what only God knows.
This message walks through the heart of biblical trust: having a proper perspective of tomorrow, a humble posture before God today, and a surrendered plan that says, “If the Lord will.” Whether facing uncertainty, fear, or the illusion of control, we are called to draw near to God, rest in His care, and trust that His will is good, even when tomorrow is unknown. Because Christ has risen, our future is secure—not in our plans, but in His perfect hands.
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