Four Truths - Realities that Satisfy and Set Us Free (I)
In my previous two articles, we looked at the “4 Gs” - four truths that summarize well who God is, and what He’s about, along with four “source idols” - four different types of roots that produce bad fruit in our lives. The good news is that the core longings of those idols find their true rest in those four truths about God. In this study, we’ll look at the first two idols, along with realities that free us from them.
God is Great
Those with a control idol struggle intensely with worry. They don’t like the feeling of being out of control. They fret about what could happen. They seek to manipulate their environments to feel more secure. Here is the slogan for those enslaved to control: “life only has meaning/I only have worth if I am able to get mastery over my life in the area of _____________.” Jesus, however, in His famous “Sermon on the Mount,” encourages His followers not to worry. He proclaims, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”
Worry doesn’t help us. It certainly doesn’t change anything. Worry isn’t just something that runs in your family. It’s something in your heart. And that root produces anxious fruit. And as Robert Mounce put it, "Worry is practical atheism and an affront to God." It flows from idolatry. It’s not living by faith. It’s looking at your dad in a parking lot at night and saying, “I don’t trust you to protect me.” It’s a kid scarfing 3000 calories at breakfast, because she doesn’t think her pop will feed her the rest of the day. It’s a slap in our Father’s face. Because our Father isn’t just good. He’s also powerful.
We see this so clearly in Isaiah 40:12-31. Verse 12 points to the immensity of God. He is big, right? Verses 13 and 14 talk about God’s knowledge and wisdom. It, too, is vast. Verses 15-17 compare God’s greatness to those of the nations. They’re drops in the bucket. They’re just dust. In verses 18-20, Isaiah mocks those who construct idols - idiots falling before wood and gold. Verses 21-22 again point to a God who is huge and who made all we can see. But I mainly want to draw your attention to verses 23-26. What I especially want you to notice is His sovereignty. That’s the particular aspect of God’s greatness I want you to see. When we say, God is great, we mean here that He is sovereign. He is king. He is in control.
Verse 23: He “brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.” Verse 24: the Lord blows on them, like they’re tender flowers, and they fall over. Look at verse 26. He brings out the stars “by number, calling them by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.” He holds in His power the rulers of nations. He rests in His palm the stars in the sky. He is our Lord. And He is great. Ephesians 1:11 says that God “works all things according to the counsel of his will.” That’s all things. He is in control!
Grasping God’s greatness not only glorifies Him. It gives us joy and peace. Here’s why: because God is great, we do not have to be in control. We can stop trying to control our lives. We have no reason to worry. God is great.
God is Good
Those who serve comfort idols run from pleasure to pleasure. They avoid pain at any cost. And in so doing, they’re looking for something that’s only meant to be found in the Lord. The prophet Jeremiah puts it like this. Turn to Jeremiah 2:12-13.
Jer. 2:12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD, 13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
What’s Jeremiah’s point? Why did you move from the spring to the toilet? From a refreshing fountain to a nasty cistern? He’s tearing into God’s people for turning from the pleasure found in the Lord alone to stuff that will never satisfy. And that’s what we all do. We trade God for things that won’t fill us up. For things that leave us empty. Here’s the slogan of the person enslaved to comfort: “Life only has meaning/I only have worth if I have this kind of pleasure experience/quality of life.”
But God offers us to come, eat and drink. He says, “Eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food” (Isaiah 55:2). Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). Hear David the King in Psalm 34:
Psa. 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Psa. 34:2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and be glad.
Psa. 34:3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
Psa. 34:4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Psa. 34:5 Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
Psa. 34:6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
Psa. 34:7 The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Psa. 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Psa. 34:9 Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
Psa. 34:10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
The King dares God’s people to try for themselves and see! He is indeed good!
As we understand and experience the goodness of God, we find the comfort we’re looking for. We glorify God when we approach Him as a cool spring with thirsty hearts, but we also refresh our souls in His goodness. Here’s why we need to grasp this truth: because God is good, we do not have to look elsewhere. The problem isn’t that we pursue pleasure. We pursue it in things that don’t satisfy. We must come to Him. He is good.
For Discussion:
Do you see yourself in the descriptions of these two source idols? What fruit in your life displays this?
How are today’s struggles exposing these idols in your life? What are you learning about yourself?
How do the truths of God’s greatness and goodness fill these needs in your life? How can these realities satisfy you and set you free?