What is in my right hand?

Isaiah 44:13-20

Idol worship. How many times did the children of Israel fall into this sin? It used to seem so foolish to me. These people had seen God part the Red Sea, He had literally led them through the wilderness, and they had seen the effect His glory had had on Moses face. Yet they still fell into the snare of idol worship.

If the children of Israel who had seen all these miraculous acts can fall into something like that, what does that mean for you and I? As I was preparing for this devotion, I realized that possibly God allowed them to make this mistake over and over as a reminder and a lesson for us. What we have to get our minds around is that anything that we put ahead of God is an idol.

The verse I want us to focus on today is verse 20. It says:

"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"

In Jewish culture, the right hand was the best hand. Whenever a father was blessing his sons, he always used his right hand (see Genesis 48:17-18). And Jesus is referred to as being "exalted to the right hand of God" (Acts 2:33).

When the Bible says in this verse "this thing in my right hand", it is referring to whatever is most important to you. For just a moment take your right hand and make a fist. Think about what is most important to you. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see what is truly most important to you, what you are really trusting in. What are you really holding in your right hand? If it is not God, it is a lie. Husbands, families, children, church, money, and extracurricular activities are all wonderful things, but if they have taken the place of God in your life, they have become an idol.

After you have honestly searched your heart, if you find that sometimes you are holding anything other than God in your right hand, hold that clenched fist up to God and say out loud, "this thing in my right hand is a lie!". Then release it by opening your hand to God in repentance.

I think we struggle as much with idol worship as the Israelites did, it is just in a different way. Today, let's seek to worship God and God alone.