Subtitle: Let's try to see the wood and stone for what it really is. Receive God's warnings as if they were meant for you and not someone else.
Excerpt: Scripture Our verse for today comes from Habakkuk 2:19, "Woe to him who says to wood, 'Awake!' To silent stone, 'Arise, it shall teach!' Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet in it there is no breath at…
Scripture
Our verse for today comes from Habakkuk 2:19, “Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ To silent stone, ‘Arise, it shall teach!’ Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet in it there is no breath at all.”
Background
You wouldn’t think that someone would need to be warned about the danger and folly of expecting a wooden thing to wake up and do something or expecting a lifeless stone to rise up and speak. But how about if those things were beautifully shaped, extremely functional and desirable, and covered with silver and gold? Would that make it seem more reasonable to expect some results and satisfaction from those objects? What about if they seemed to bring with them certain benefits or afford us a certain amount of comfort and efficiency? Could there be opportunity for us to be caught up in the glitter and sensation? As the layers of pleasure and enjoyment are added onto the wood and stone, we can see how it gets easier and easier to forget what is underneath it all. We can see how our hearts get attached to what seems to be so important, so fulfilling, all the while ignoring that the hope and expectation we have put in these things is directed at dead wood and silent stone. Man-made idols without a single breath in them.
Application
At first glance, we would never think that we were hoping in the things that surround us, the objects we have bought or possessed. It’s just a truck, a beautiful, functional truck that does everything I need. It’s just a savings account to take care of any emergencies I might have. Or it’s just a relationship where I can share some things that no one else understands. But when we put these things, or a hundred other little things, before a mirror, the reflection shows only wood and stone. And maybe that’s why there are a hundred things that capture our hearts, because ninety-nine wasn’t enough. And it’s never going to be, because it’s actually too much. One is all you need. The One who gives the breath of life. He doesn’t cover Himself with gold and silver, only a crown of thorns. But when He is all you want, then you truly have everything there is.
Charge
As we seek Him today, let’s try to see the wood and stone for what it really is. Receive God’s warnings as if they were meant for you and not someone else.
Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words
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