Turn to God

 

Isaiah 45:22 (NIV)
"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other."

Devotion:

In the ancient world, every nation had its gods, and every god had its territory. The people Isaiah addressed lived among wooden idols that had to be carried from place to place (45:20). Into that crowded marketplace of deities, the Lord speaks a word that leaves no room for rivals: "I am God, and there is no other."

This is more than a statement of monotheism. It is the ground of an invitation. Because there is only one God, there is only one place to turn for salvation. The idols cannot save; they cannot even move themselves. The Lord who forms the light and creates the darkness, who raised up Cyrus to do his bidding, is the only one with power to rescue. And he does not wait to be sought. He calls.

Notice how wide the call reaches: "all you ends of the earth." Spoken first to Israel, the invitation runs outward to the nations. Here in the prophets, we hear the gospel the apostles would one day carry to the Gentiles. The very next verse declares that every knee will bow before him, words Paul applies to Jesus Christ in Philippians 2. The God who says "turn to me" has made himself known in the Son.

On a snowy Sunday morning in January 1850, a fifteen-year-old boy took shelter in a small Primitive Methodist chapel in Colchester. The minister never arrived, and a plain, unlettered man stood up in his place to preach on this text. The King James renders it, "Look unto me, and be ye saved." The man could say little beyond repeating that command, but he pressed it home: look, not to yourself, but to Christ. The boy was Charles Spurgeon, and that morning he looked and lived.

That is the wonder of this verse. Salvation is not earned by effort, secured by learning, or purchased by merit. We receive it by turning, by looking away from ourselves to the God who saves. A child can do it. A dying man can do it. And the same Lord who commands the turning gives the grace to turn.

Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places: to your own performance, your past, your feelings, or the approval of others. These are idols we carry, and they cannot carry us. Turn from them today. Look to Christ.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for giving us the power to turn from our sins and idols and worship you alone. Help us to always to be ready, as Charles Spurgeon was, to declare your word to our hurting and helpless world. Glorify your name through us, and help us always to walk in your way. As Jesus taught us may we always be ready to take up our cross and follow you and no other. In Jesus name, Amen.