Me? An Idolater?

"He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, 'Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?'" - Isaiah 44:20 (NIV)

There is a deep sense of yearning for satisfaction set within the life of each individual. This longing for fulfillment, of course, leads to freedom, just as water quenches the thirst. It is quite obvious humanity would be classified as a seeker. We seek fulfillment and satisfaction as if our lives were dependent upon it. However, how many people, if asked, would say they have ever been completely satisfied, or even close? It is logical to assume that if we were created with a need for satisfaction, then our Creator would know what was designed to fulfill that satisfaction.

"To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'

They answered him, 'We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?'

Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.'" - John 8:31-36 (NIV)

So often this verse is applied to the idea of honesty, which is very true indeed. However if you look closely at Jesus' teachings in the New Testament, He often uses words to describe Himself, and yet so often this greater picture is missed. Look carefully. "The truth will set you free." Later in John 14, Jesus refers to himself as the "truth." So, are you looking for freedom and satisfaction, well let the Truth set you free!

But now that we know what will fill our innate need for fulfillment, lets look back at Isaiah and see what went so wrong. First, I must clarify some things. "Salvation through Christ" and the "abundant life" that He offers are not the same thing and will not come at the same time. Salvation is a gift that God offers us through His Son, Jesus Christ. The abundant life we are capable to receive is also a gift, but one that comes with daily surrender to Christ and allowing Him to be on the throne of our lives.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." - John 10:10 (NASB )

So, again logically speaking, let's review: 1. Our Creator gave us a need for satisfaction that only He can fulfill. 2. He sent His Son, Jesus, to give us life, and to all us to have life abundantly in order to fulfill this need that He created. 3. In order for us to have life we must trust in Jesus, and in order of us to have life abundantly we must make Him the Ruler of our lives. So how then did we end up feeding on ashes and being mislead by our deluded heart? (see Is. 44:20) Earlier in chapter 44, Isaiah is talking about Idols. When we think of Idolatry, our minds automatically shift to a visual symbol of some carved out animal or man that we pray to and worship. But really, anything that takes the place of God's rightful throne in our lives is an idol, and we become Idolaters. So for the sake of applying Isaiah 44 to our lives, you can picture the idols being crafted in this chapter as money, relationships, work, materialism, etc. (whatever is an idol in your life)

Isaiah describes two scenarios in the life of those who craft their own idols. First, the man who focuses so hard on building up his idol that he completely loses himself.
"He gets hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint." (12)
This type of idol (typically a relationship with another person) can be the hardest to remove because of the toll it takes on our own lives. We build up this person as a "god" and give and give, while all they do is take. Why on earth would anyone want to worship a "god" like that? This "god" certainly will never satisfy and will only bring us to the end of ourselves where we can do no more.

The other scenario is of a man who (in rather harsh terms) is just plain stupid. It is almost funny the way Isaiah puts it:
"No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, 'Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?'" (19)
The idol Isaiah is speaking of here is one that is man-made (such as money or materialism). How silly is it of us to believe that one more paycheck, or a nicer car, or one more pair of shoes and then we will be happy, then we will have it all. This idol is slightly easier to remove once we see our own stupidity. For us to think that something we can make with our own hands and will be used up or destroyed will satisfy is just a matter of accepting reality. We must learn to understand that "this thing in my right hand" is a lie." (20)

"Can you see the strong tie between our quest for satisfaction and the worship of idols? The void God created in our lives for Himself will demand attention. We look desperately for something to satisfy us and fill the empty places. Our craving to be filled is so strong that the moment something or someone seems to meet our need, we feel an overwhelming temptation to worship it." - Beth Moore, Breaking Free

Now that we see the cause of our satisfaction, as well as the cause of our dissatisfaction, we question the second part of verse 20, "he cannot save himself." So are we lost to a miserable life of pursuing that which will never fulfill us? No, we learned earlier that God promises us that we are capable of having "life abundantly." But with all these idols how can we move forward? If you read further into Isaiah 44, he says:
"Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I have made you, you are my servant; O Israel, I will not forget you. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins are like the morning mist. RETURN TO ME, FOR I HAVE REDEEMED YOU." (21-22)

Is it not refreshing to know that God not only paved away for us to have life, and have it abundantly, but also allowed for us to return when we stray and wind up with idols blocking that path. And if not even more refreshing, God says that through this we will display His glory!
"for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel." (23)