Read Isaiah 43:9-12 9 All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.” 10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. 11 I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior. 12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed — I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.
When I first began to research the biblical history of captivity among God’s people, I kept running into a conspicuous common denominator: idolatry. I don’t know why it was such a news flash. God warned His people over and over that if they did not resist the false gods of the nations surrounding them they would be snared, and He would ultimately allow them to be taken captive. They didn’t and He did. One sobering aspect of the faithfulness of God is that He keeps His promises. The book of Isaiah constantly seems to plead the question, “Why in the world would you worship idols when you were chosen by the sovereign God to be His own?” (See Isaiah 43:10-12).
As believers in Christ, you and I also have been chosen to know, believe and understand that He is God. Our lives have been sanctified by the one true God. Heaven is His throne. Earth is His footstool. Awesome creatures never cease to sing, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!” Lighting flashes from His Throne. The winds do His bidding. The clouds are His chariot. The earth trembles at the sound of His voice. When He stands to His feet, His enemies are scattered. He is transcendent over all things. Absolute. Uncontested. Omniscient. The Lord God omnipotent reigns. He is God and there is no other. And yet this very One is our Father. He demands, deserves, our respect.
Virtually every kind of stronghold, or unholy fortress of sin, involves the worship of an idol. For example, the stronghold of pride is associated with the worship of self. The stronghold of addiction is associated with the worship of a substance or habit. In one way or another, something else has become “god” in our lives, the object of our chief focus. Until we turn from our idols to the one true God, we will never find liberty, for “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).
As long as our minds rehearse the strength of our stronghold more than the strength of our God, we will be impotent. We must believe that in our weakness He is strong, and that as we bend the knee to His lordship, God is more than able to deliver us.
-Beth Moore-
Responding - Am I serving someone or something other than God? What is my idol?
Following - Turn from idols to the one true God.
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