The Bible has a lot to say about idolatry. In Isaiah 44, we are presented with the picture of a blacksmith hard at work- working with all his strength to build up a carved image of a man.
“He shapes [it] with hammers, he forges it with the might of his arm” (vs. 12).
He grows exhausted and weak. Yet he still bows down to it praying, “Save me; you are my god” (vs. 17).
This man, this idol-worshiper, becomes blinded to the truth of the Lord. Isaiah writes in verse 18,
“They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand.”
The man loses all understanding of how ridiculous he is for searching for fulfillment and satisfaction from something which will never be able to fill him. He is a lover of emptiness, bowing down to a “block of wood” (verse 19).
And I think, how often in my own life do I bow downto blocks of wood- how often do I become a lover of emptiness?
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Recently, the Lord has really been shining light on the idols in my life- the things that I worship, that I obsess over, the things that turn my thoughts and my emotions from a heart solely after the Lord.
Approval. Affirmation. Appearances. Acceptance.
Just like the blacksmith, I find myself working with all of my might to build up these idols, these blocks of wood in my life. I grow tired and I fail. Over and over. And I am in love with emptiness.
See it’s funny how if you live long enough in worship of things apart from the Lord, you begin to become blinded of your foolishness and slowly lose your foothold in the Truth of God’s Word.
Romans 1:25 says- “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator.”
The reality is this- nothing on this Earth will ever be able to give you true fulfillment in life. No relationship. No job position. No amount of money. No article of clothing. No number on the scale.
What’s sad is that rather than turning to our all-sustaining and loving Father when we don’t achieve this fullness in life, we often only work harder or seek elsewhere to achieve it. And we are now a slave to the things of this world. We are in submission to a block of wood- to complete emptiness.
And it's now that we begin exchanging God's Truth for the lies of this world- the lies that leak discontentment and discouragement- the lies that tell us we are never enough.
But you see, this is what we miss out on- this is God's Truth:
You are fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 149:14)
You are My treasured possession. (Exodus 19:5)
You were made in My image. (Genesis 1:27)
You were not a mistake. (Psalm 139:15-16)
NOTHING will separate you from My love. (Romans 8:38-39)
You are a stranger to this world. (1 Peter 2:11)
I am ALL you need. (Psalm 73:25)
I have called you by name- You are Mine. (Isaiah 43:1)
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How absolutely devastating it must be for the Lord to watch His beloved children labor in vain after such empty things- after a block of wood- when He is waiting with open arms, waiting to give us a life abounding in joy and fulfillment.
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What idols are you building up today? What are you bowing down to in place of the Lord?
early mornings. traffic. rushing to work. double-shifts. catching up with friends. summer to-do lists. even on a break from college, i find myself in the crazy spin of life.
we live in a culture that is always on the go. always pushing us. always requiring more.
more energy. more time. more of what we don’t have.
after long, exhausting days- i’m a mess and i'm drained- i crawl out of my car and look up at the moonlit sky and i collapse in the grass under the canopy of stars.
when staring at such an incredible masterpiece, i find it impossible to question such a Creator’s sovereignty. question His provision in my life. His careful hands holding mine so tight.
so many things in this world can so easily entertain our minds with anxiety and stress.
whether it’s busy schedules, broken relationships, never-ending to-do lists, uncertainties for the future - there always seems to be something that attempts to steal away from our peace and contentment.
but then i think- if the God who placed each one of those millions of stars into the universe is the same God who is orchestrating the extremely minor details of my life, then what do i really have to be anxious about? what do i have to fear?
in those moments, when i’m laying alone in the grass, pouring my heart out to Him. my questions. my desires. as i gaze, awestruck at the work of His hands, i hear Him whisper:
em, I have it all under control. won’t you trust Me?
and i take a deep breath, and i walk on from those moments with a renewed faith- that i’m not walking alone. and how silly of me to even think for a second that somehow i know better than the God who gave me life. the God who gave everything life.
and i read from Isaiah 55 as the Lord says:
"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways."
and once again i am humbled. and i begin to accept the truth. i accept that sometimes it’s okay to not understand. that my life on its own is just but a breath compared to Him that is eternal and in all things glorious. and how could i ever even expect to understand the thoughts or the ways of such a God?
i look across the sky again and David’s psalm echoes through my head. who am i that You are mindful of me, oh God? (Psalm 8:3-4.)
i feel small. insignificant. unimportant.
and that’s okay.
because in that moment, lying amazed under the weight of His glory, i feel it and i know-
He is near.
and really, that is all i need to know.
oh, i’ve heard the passage a thousand times. a final exhortation to the Philippians:
“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:5-7.
it is now that i begin to truly understand Paul’s words. and i lay it all before the Lord. every worry. every fear. every hurt. every longing.
and the more i cry out, the more i finally start grabbing hold of that peace. that peace that i will never comprehend. such a peace only comes from such a God.
and no longer do i need to know all of the answers in life. because He is near. and that is enough.
i am so incredibly thankful for those moments of stillness. those moments when i'm able to stop searching for things from Him- and instead search for Him alone. because He is enough. and i deserve nothing. not even the stars i lay my eyes upon.
oh, i am blessed. and He is good.
He is beautiful.
"One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple." Psalm 27:4.
summertime. back roads. country air. windows down. music up. something about it just makes everything feel okay in the world.
the other day, i'm driving alone in the car just thinking about life. and its mysteries. and change. and a song came on the radio that really just stuck with me.
hebrews 12:1-2 has always been one of my favorite verses.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
sometimes i think life with Jesus is a lot like a race. but not the kind of race that’s all about trophies and winners and second places. more the kind about endurance and determination and a goal. a finish line.
i think back to those days in middle school when i ran on the track team. and i was terrible. but i ran. and i think about the races. and how people would pass me until i was in the very back. and i didn’t care because all i wanted to do in that moment was finish my race. and i ran. i ran my little heart out. and dad would be cheering from the side. but i wouldn’t know. i was focused. never looked back. eyes fixed straight ahead. fixed on the goal. the finish line.
i wish i lived life a lot more like i ran that race.
sometimes it’s so easy for me to forget the first part of that verse in hebrews 12. the part that comes before our call to run the race. the part that says- let us throw off everything that hinders.
our enemy loves to do anything he can to hold us back from finishing our race. from seeing God’s work in our lives. from growing into the man or woman our Creator desires for us to be. and i think a lot of times, satan uses reminders of our past in order to do this.
hurts. rejections. failures. mistakes.
we all just end up walking around with these big suitcases full of bitterness. remorse. and regret.
but how can we run if we’re holding suitcases? and how can we fix our eyes on Jesus if we're constantly looking in the rear view mirror?
it's so easy for us to obsess with the past and become so incredibly engaged in the things in this life that can't be changed. i will never understand it. but the truth is this- yesterday is history. it's gone. true life starts right here, right now.
brothers and sisters, it’s time to let go. drop your bags.
by the grace of your Savior, you are free.
free to run.
"One thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
have you ever had those moments when everything in your life is just so dysfunctional that all you can do is laugh? well if you know me- you probably know that these moments happen to me on a regular basis. i’m not really sure why- but they just do.
this weekend was just a series of exactly that.
#1- on friday i’m completing my financial check-in for Liberty. turns out that i was selected for this silly thing called ‘verification’. i remember someone emailing me about it but i didn’t know what it was so naturally i just ignored the message. (yeah, i have regrets.) well- let’s just say i know what verification is now. and i also know that if you don’t do it, you can’t really complete your financial check-in. and then your classes (that you so carefully planned out 2 months before) will be dropped. oopsie.
#2- saturday morningi go with my mother to have my driver’s license picture renewed. i had everyintention in the world to make this a good picture- (since i’m going to have it for 4 years and everything). so my mother and i walk into the DMV. she’s just picking up numbers from the front desk and we’re all frazzled trying to figure out where we need to be because everyone and their mom was also at the DMV that day. so we’re both just laughing cuz we have no idea where to sit to get this picture taken and all of the sudden my number is called. so now everyone’s just staring at us as we’re fumbling through papers. i’m trying to get myself together for the photo. turns out i get the grumpiest lady in all of lancaster, pennsylvania to take my picture. my mom’s on the sidelines coaching me how to smile. i'm disoriented. we're both laughing. to end the story, let’s just say- that license is now tucked in the very back of my wallet.
#3- saturday evening, for my friend’s birthday, we go to hersheypark with my sister and her boyfriend. it’s getting to be the end of the night and we had about 45 minutes until hershey was going to close. so, following tradition, we run to the very corner of the park to end with our favorite rollercoaster. as we’re shuffling on our way over, we’re taking bets on how many times we can ride this rollercoaster before the park closes. we finally get there to find that not only was the ride closed, but storms were on their way. it wasn’t long before we were barefoot, running through hershey park in the pouring rain trying our best to get to the car that was approximately 496908 miles away. it was a wet ride home.
#4- i take a daytrip to the beach with kate on sunday. we drive 3 hours to find that new jersey really wasn’t too warm that day like it was forecasted to be. so we’re sitting on this dreary beach, bundled up in our sweatshirts waiting for the littlest bit of sun to shine through. once the sun finally did decide to come out, i wasn’t quite ready for it. it kinda looks like a kindergartner took a red crayon and just scribbled all over my legs. (just in case you were wondering- aerosol suntan lotion doesn’t work too well on a breezy day.)
i guess the moral of the story is this: stuff happens.
i’m a firm believer that our joy in life has nothing to do with the things that happen to us, but everything to do with our attitude in response to those things.
i’m also a firm believer that if we all justlightened up a little bit and stopped taking ourselves so seriously, life would make a whole lot more sense.
i find myself just so thankful for those little moments like i had this past weekend. those moments when i can just laugh at myself and realize that it’s really okay not to have it all together all the time. to accept that i mess up. that i do silly things. that i don’t have to be the most attractive person in the world – or even close to it really. that i don’t have to be the best at everything. to realize that no matter how hard i try, things are just not always going to go the way i plan.
life is full of surprises- big and little. but one thing i've learned in my 20 years of being alive- sometimes ya just gotta lean wit it rock wit it. shake it off. giggle a little. cuz guess what. no matter what insanity is thrown your way, i can promise you this-
i'm a dreamer. when i think about what i want to do with my life, the answer is simple.
i want to make a difference.
i want to live a life of eternal significance. i want to live life with my eyes [ w i d e ] open. i want to be able to step out in faith. on a daily basis. i want to be a light. a bright light. i want to show hope. purpose. joy. love. to the people all over this earth.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. [ecclesiastes 3:11]
About Me
Emily Jo
I'm a child at heart. I believe in laughter. I believe in spontaneity. I believe in finding joy in the little things in life. like sunsets. and flowers. and ice cream. I believe that there is a purpose for every single person on this earth. I believe in hope. brighter tomorrows. and glasses that are half full. I believe in one day at a time. I believe it's okay to be silly- that sometimes we take ourselves a little too seriously. I believe in second chances. I believe a willing heart can change the world. I believe in dreaming. dreaming big. I believe that looking is different than seeing. That love is a lifestyle. I believe that grace changes everything. and I believe in the promise of today.
