Isaiah 57 - 10.13.25

Scripture

‭‭

Isaiah‬ ‭57‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The wind will carry all of them off, a mere breath will blow them away. But whoever takes refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.”

Observation

In this passage, God is speaking through His prophet Isaiah and He is condemning His people’s foolishness and their sinfulness. The people of Judah have turned their backs on God. They chose to live adulterous lives, filled with serving their own man-made idols and doing detestable things in the sight of God. The people of Judah have forced God’s mighty hand to show them that their idols are worthless. But God, the One True Living God, will forgive those who repent. His anger won’t last forever. He will allow those who trust in Him to inherit the land and possess His holy mountain.

Application

Ain’t nothing like the real thing.

That’s not just the title of an old 60’s song by Marvin Gaye. It’s the truth when you put it into context with this passage. You see, the people of Judah were trying to substitute The One True Living God, with false gods and idols in their lives. They were about to find out that the fake idols they were worshipping and all the hideous sacrifices they were making, were making God very angry. God was about to show them that these things they were putting in their lives didn’t hold any weight and were NOTHING compared to Him!

What were they thinking?! God’s people literally witnessed firsthand, or were told stories passed down from their ancestors, of God’s mighty hand and faithfulness for His people. So why question it?! 

But the more I think about it, we could be just as guilty of doing that sometimes. God has been faithful with providing for our every need. He has healed us or a family member. He protects us in times of danger. He may not always get us out of difficult situations, but He is always faithful to sustain us and see us through them. But, how soon we forget! We allow our lives to be too filled with other things/idols where we forget about Him. We turn to anything but God, that is, until we hit rock bottom. Why do we have to wait until we hit rock bottom though? Is it because these other things/idols that we put our faith in instead of God don’t really hold any weight and can’t really help us? Whether it’s our own physical strength, our homes, our finances, or even our friends and family, they will eventually fade away and fail us. But God will never fail us. His love for us is never ending. We read in this chapter that as angry as God was with His people, God yearns for them to repent and come back to Him. He yearns to heal and restore them. He yearns to give them peace. 

So why put our trust in anything or anyone else when we have a God who is real, who is mighty, who loves us unconditionally, and who is alive today! 🎵Ain’t nothing like the real thing baby!🎵

“But the Lord is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King! The whole earth trembles at his anger. The nations cannot stand up to his wrath.”-‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭10‬:‭10‬ ‭

Prayer

Father God, You are The One True Living God. There is no one like You. You are my God, my Lord, my Savior, and my friend. Please forgive me for putting idols (other things in my life) that replace my time that I should be spending with You. Help me to seek You and trust You in everything that I do. Keep me on the right path…Your path today. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽 

-Moses Gaddi