WHERE IS YOUR SEARCH LEADING YOU?

I started a new theme in my previous post: “WHAT ARE YOU SEARCHING FOR?” (October 3), which I’m continuing today. As someone who has the opportunity to interact with many different people, I come across high levels of frustration and discontent. The focus of this general dissatisfaction with life ranges from things not turning out the way they’d dreamed to being stuck in a place (a less than perfect job or marriage; suffering through an extended illness; mired in financial problems; etc.) they’d rather not be. This intense dissatisfaction with life can and often does begin to drive a person towards a desperate search. Desperation isn’t wrong, in itself, but desperate people do desperate things. And as we’ve all seen, desperate people sometimes do crazy things. 

I think of searching and seeking as a really good thing. Where things can go wrong, and very quickly, is when a person doesn’t know what they’re looking for, so they become susceptible to everything and everyone. In Isaiah 44:8, the prophet refers to those who devote their lives to false gods/idols as, “lovers of emptiness” (The Message). 

Isaiah 44:15-25 New Living Translation (Context: Isaiah is addressing the person who has devoted themselves to false gods/idols)

15 And after his care, he uses part of the wood to make a fire to warm himself and bake his bread. Then -- yes, it's true -- he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god for people to worship! He makes an idol and bows down and praises it! 16 He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. 17 Then he takes what's left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. "Rescue me!" he says. "You are my god!" 18 Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think. 19 The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, "Why, it's just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a chunk of wood?" 20 The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He is trusting something that can give him no help at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, "Is this thing, this idol that I'm holding in my hand, a lie?" 21 "Pay attention, O Israel, for you are my servant. I, the LORD, made you, and I will not forget to help you. 22 I have swept away your sins like the morning mists. I have scattered your offenses like the clouds. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free."

In this section of scripture, what grabs my attention is the question in V21: “Is this thing, this idol that I'm holding in my hand, a lie?" Isaiah’s question is important because it cuts through all the self-deception and delusion, and gets to the point: Is your search leading you towards truth or a lie? Is your search leading you closer to Jesus? Whatever we’re seeking in our lives, if it’s not leading us closer to Jesus, it’s a lie! It doesn’t matter if the subject is relationships, career, hobbies, serving others, or the church, if our searching is not leading us closer to Jesus (the Truth), we’re seeking a lie. 

I absolutely love the word of the Lord Isaiah shares in VS21-22. I encourage you to re-read these two verses over and over again. There is a song which contains a line which says, “Only Jesus can satisfy your soul.” It’s more than a nice saying, it’s the truth. He’s the only One who is capable of giving you what you’re searching for.

To be continued…