Isaiah 29:13-16
13 And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, 14 therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.” 15 Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?” 16 You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
God doesn't want us to just talk the good talk; He wants us to walk the good walk. That seems obvious, but how often have we proclaimed God one moment and then secretly denied Him the next? Except it wasn't really secret, for God sees everything (verse 15). When we are caught in our addiction, we often have these dual faces, where we verbally say one thing but then go and do something else. In our minds we believe one thing, but our actions reveal something different. The solution to this dilemma, according to this passage, is to put God in His proper place. We try to reverse things and put ourselves at the center of the universe, making ourselves into God. But we are the clay, not the potter (verse 16), and we need to keep that perspective in mind. We need to be astounded with the wonder of God (verse 14), falling on our knees before Him. Then our walk will match our talk, and it will glorify God.
Lord, You are amazing! Help me to remember that You are God and I am not.
13 And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, 14 therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.” 15 Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?” 16 You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
God doesn't want us to just talk the good talk; He wants us to walk the good walk. That seems obvious, but how often have we proclaimed God one moment and then secretly denied Him the next? Except it wasn't really secret, for God sees everything (verse 15). When we are caught in our addiction, we often have these dual faces, where we verbally say one thing but then go and do something else. In our minds we believe one thing, but our actions reveal something different. The solution to this dilemma, according to this passage, is to put God in His proper place. We try to reverse things and put ourselves at the center of the universe, making ourselves into God. But we are the clay, not the potter (verse 16), and we need to keep that perspective in mind. We need to be astounded with the wonder of God (verse 14), falling on our knees before Him. Then our walk will match our talk, and it will glorify God.
Lord, You are amazing! Help me to remember that You are God and I am not.