Monday, September 21, 2013 [Imposters]
Written by Keesha Sullivan
"Bring in your idols to tell us what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come, tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear. But you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless; he who chooses you is detestable."
Isaiah 41:22-24
Isaiah asks the idols to do something to prove that they can help those that follow them. He knows that they are "less than nothing and [their] works are utterly worthless," because they cannot answer him. He knows that the idols that Judah and Jerusalem have been following are not only worthless, but that they are causing a rift between them and their Almighty God. He wants them to test the idols, so that they too can realize that these idols are less than nothing.
Unfortunately, we look to idols every day to help us through life. Whether it is money, power, people, food, alcohol, or sex, these idols do not fill us. They are "less than nothing" when they are put in the place of God. An idol is anything that we look to fill us, satisfy us, or even help us that isn't God. Most idols are things that God gave us to be helpful and good, but that turn into something evil when used incorrectly. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary an idol is synonymous with a pretender or imposter. Money, power, people, food, alcohol, and sex "pretend" to fill us or help us for that moment. It seems as if it alleviates the pain, hurt, or desire for something more when it is "utterly worthless."
For many decades when I was in any type of pain, I would eat to temper that feeling. The pretender/impostor, my idol, would dull the pain for a moment and then the intensity of the pain along with shame would come back. Food could not solve my problems. Only God can.
Isaiah 43:1-3 reads, "But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."
When I began praying to God when I was in pain, He wouldn't dull the pain for the moment; God would truly heal the pain. There was no shame afterwards, because I didn't go to an impostor. I went to the real Source. It makes sense to go back to the God that knows my past, my present, and my future and that knit me together in my mother's womb and redeemed me with the blood of His Son. God loves us more than we can ever imagine, and I believe that it hurts Him when we run to impostors to help us. Why? Firstly, because He knows we are not going to get any help from them; and, secondly, because we are denying His power and giving it over to something He created.
Lord, help us to understand that You are God. You have all the power and the might in Your hands, and You are always with us. Help us to not turn to idols that are pretenders/impostors, but to turn to You. Lord we love you and the only God we need is You. You are mighty to save – Our Only Savior.
Amen.
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