Gaze on our Holy Savior

Posted by: Megan Sweitzer | Wednesday, September 18th, 2024 (12:00am)

“Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.” ISAIAH 45:22 NIV

Did anyone else sing that Sunday school song about the 10 commandments? Went something like “Number one, we’ve just begun, God should be first in your life. Number two, the idol rule, those graven images aren’t nice.” Anyone?

It sure is a catchy song. I remember singing in with my sister around our house growing up. We always would race through the song to see who could sing it the fastest. I don’t remember much from Sunday school but man, this song is engrained on my heart so much so that years later, I still remember it enough to write about it ;)

As simple as it is, this little tune holds some valuable truth for us and highlights what Isaiah emphasizes here in our verse of the day.

“For I am God and there is no other.” Take a moment and pause. Read that again. “For I am God and there is no other.” I don’t know about you, but I find this so comforting. It is such a relief to me, that I don’t need to worship anything or anyone else. I don’t need to look to this world to satisfy. All I need is Jesus.

However, I know my heart. I know that there are things in my life that I put in God’s place, things that I idolize and look to for saving other than God. What does this look like in your life? I know in different seasons of my life, I looked to that friend group, that perfect college experience, that future spouse and marriage to fill a void in my heart, that only God can fill.

Maybe for you it’s looking to your co-workers or your boss for approval and validation, maybe it’s looking to your husband or marriage for comfort and security. Maybe it’s working out, eating all the “right things” so you can look a certain way. We all have those things that tug at our heart, that want to draw our attention off the Father. None of which are bad in and of itself, but when it controls our heart, our mind, and consumes all our waking thoughts, then it has taken the place of God and become an idol.

That’s why Isaiah reminds us at the beginning of the verse, “Turn to me [God] and be saved.” We are called to turn from the things of the world and focus our gaze on our Holy Savior, because there is nothing else that can save us.

I think the catchy 10 commandment song, as simple as it is, is the reminder I need daily; to look to the Lord to be my only source of hope, to put him first in every area of my life and that the things that I think will satisfy, the things that I worship other than God, will always fall short and really aren’t nice.