¹⁹ The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?” ²⁰ The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”

                                                           Isaiah 44.19-20 NLT

Isaiah 44 was part of my morning devotion today and I have to admit these verses made me stop in my tracks.  The entire thought that we create “idols” in which we put our trust to secure our future and never stop to assess if it is working.  As a matter of fact, the Scripture says we cannot bring ourselves to even asking the question.  My guess is that it is pride that stands in our way.  Or maybe busyness  prevents a solid examination of our ways and their ends.

How often do I step back and examine my life?   Really think through how I am spending my time, my money, my energy, my talent and my passion?  Am I too caught up in the moment to see that the moment has turned into a couple of years and instead of being in a Promised Land I am in a desert land completely unfulfilling and even destructive?

Yep.  I admit that is me at times.  I’ll bet I’m not alone either.  No better time than the present to assess where you are mind, body and spirit and make course corrections before you spend anymore time striving into a future that leads to a dead-end.

Here is some advice from a fellow traveler.  Find someone to help you assess where things are in your life.  Even our best effort to reflect is blinded by seeing all trees in front of us and not finding the forest in our lives.  So find a trusted friend, confidant, or here’s an idea…your pastor…and spend some time in prayer and candid conversation.  None of us wants to spend a lifetime and find out we didn’t get where we thought we were going.  And none of us has to.