Isaiah 45:18-23
For Jehovah created the heavens and earth and put everything in place, and he made the world to be lived in, not to be an empty chaos. I am Jehovah, he says, and there is no other! I publicly proclaim bold promises; I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner so that no one can know what I mean. And I didn’t tell Israel to ask me for what I didn’t plan to give! No, for I, Jehovah, speak only truth and righteousness.
Gather together and come, you nations that escape from Cyrus’s hand. What fools they are who carry around the wooden idols and pray to gods that cannot save! Consult together, argue your case and state your proofs that idol worship pays! Who but God has said that these things concerning Cyrus would come true? What idol ever told you they would happen? For there is no other God but me—a just God and a Savior—no, not one! Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other. I have sworn by myself, and I will never go back on my word, for it is true—that every knee in all the world shall bow to me, and every tongue shall swear allegiance to my name.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
I learned the hard way not to make “promises” you can’t keep. It happened in November 1979, when school was dismissed for Thanksgiving break. We all wished our students a happy holiday, and even stood in the doorway and said, “See you on Monday!” Then my next-door teaching neighbor and her family drove to Oklahoma for the weekend, where she was killed in a car crash. After that, I never told my students again that “I will see you tomorrow…next week…or next year.” I would wish them well or tell them I loved them…and leave it at that.
Now you may find this silly…but I can tell you that “kids” of all ages take promises seriously. Think of all the vows we make – and break. “I promise I will play with you in a few minutes” turns into an hour of inattention – or you never get around to paying attention to your child. He/she learns that you don’t always mean what you say. “I will never lie to you” is broken in a zillion ways – and others learn that you cannot be trusted to keep your word. “I will love you ‘till death do us part’” has become “until things get rough or the next ‘love’ comes along” for many.
We promise to keep others’ best interests at heart and then enact hurtful legislation or practices. We say we love everyone, and then we participate in tribalism, judgment, exclusion, and downright hatred and divisiveness. We declare that we worship God and listen only to His commands…and then we proceed to idolize elected officials, celebrities, athletes – or even money, power, and possessions – and we give these false gods top billing in our lives. Too many of us all but literally “carry around wooden idols and pray to gods that cannot save!”
I love how Isaiah prophesies the words of God… “I publicly proclaim bold promises; I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner so that no one can know what I mean. And I didn’t tell Israel to ask me for what I didn’t plan to give!” In other words, we know what God has ordained and commanded, so we have no business twisting His words – or declaring that He says or does something else. And we also are reminded not to ask God for what we know runs counter to His tenets of love for all others and faithful obedience to His word and will.
We must stop asking God for special treatment…or to remove people, groups, and situations for whom we harbor disdain or disapproval. Instead, let’s pray, “Thy will be done.” Let’s humbly ask God to work in and through us to accomplish His plans…and let’s begin to operate in the mindset that there is no other God – and we should bow only before our Heavenly Father – and give Him full allegiance. We must also guard our words and actions – and our own “promises” – so that we are always truthful and genuine representatives of God. People are watching and listening…it is up to us to show them the power and presence of our one true God. Alleluia!
©2024 Debbie Robus
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