Creator and Source
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Daniel 2:20-22
Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and mysterious things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.
Hosea 3:4-5
For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.
God is the source. The source of everything--all wisdom, might, time, and seasons. Any time we may feel inclined to take credit for any success or recognition or monetary reward or fame we do well to remember the source of it all. Not just the creator—the source. The beginning of it all – in infinity before time began. That’s the God in charge of my life. That’s the God who makes the sun rise and then set, the tides come in and retreat. He’s the one who reveals deep truths to us. He has seen the darkness – since he created it and he banishes it.
Sometimes, though, we fail to acknowledge or recognize our source/creator. It is not until we dwell many days without our
King of Kings that we begin to realize our lives are meaningless and insignificant without Him and His leadership and His guidance and His presence. It’s not until then, so often, that we admit we can do nothing without our God. Oh, we’ll go through the motions of our lives. We’ll meet all our worldly obligations and do all the man-centered/man-focused activities on our to-do list. But we won’t feel whole or satisfied if we are moving through our days without God in them.
So often, we reach a point where we wonder what’s missing in our lives. Then we realize it's that close, warm, loving relationship with God that He so desires to have with us. When we spurn him and strike out on our own, we’re refusing Him and all He longs to share with us. And we feel it, too, deep in our bones, and in the back of our mind. Something just doesn’t feel right. Everything seems almost as if it’s in another dimension or in a dream, perhaps. When we turn our lives back over to God, we feel more like we’re on an even keel.
A teraphim is an idol, or the small image of one. An ephod is a sacred garment that looks sort of like an apron, worn with a waistband by the high priests. Hosea’s words are saying the Israelites won’t even have their false gods or prayer vestments upon which to rely when they are in such a rebellious state of being. Like them, when we live outside of alignment with our values and core beliefs, we feel adrift and alone. When God steps in, finally, to rescue us, we feel right with the world again. Or at least right with God!
My prayer today is that you cast off all the idols and the distractions in your life. And that you call out to your God who is the Creator and Source.
Mary
