May the mumbling commence!
Attention! Where does our attention rightfully belong? Isaiah helps us to answer that question in chapters 43 and 44. Read a couple of passages below:
This is what the Lord says –
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the desert
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise. (43:16-21)
The carpenter measures with a line
and makes an outline with a marker;
he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses.
He shapes it in the form of man, of man in all his glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.
He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine,
and the rain made it grow.
It is man's fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.
Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
over it he prepares his meal,
he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says, "Ah! I am warm; I see the fire."
From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.
He prays to it and says, "Save me; you are my god."
They know nothing, they understand nothing;
their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see,
and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
No one stops to think,
no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,
"Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?"
He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
"Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?" (44:13-20)
The older we get, the more we like to live in the “good ole days.” Even so, humanity has the disposition to ask the question: What have you done for me lately? In the first passage, the Lord begins by reminding Israel how God has saved them in the past. It is good to remember those things, right? I would think so. But, then, God orders Israel to forget the past – do not dwell on it.
Well, if we focus too much on the rearview mirror in our vehicles, we will quickly find ourselves in an accident. Our attention belongs on where we are going. Our living Lord is constantly doing new things before our eyes. Are we paying attention to the ways God is making through the desert of the United States? God is doing things right now for your and my benefit. Have we taken time to note them and give thanks? It is a primary reason for the way that our Creator formed us!
Driving is also about looking further down the road to anticipate what is to come. Too many times, we can get hung up in the present moment – to the detriment of the future. We may give thanks to the items that keep us warm in the winter (or cool in the summer!) only to forget their source in the Lord. We must be careful not to worship our central heat and air systems in our homes. That would be celebrating a lie.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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