God Beats Any Illusion
They say to the seers, "See no more visions!" and to the prophets, "Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions." -- Isaiah 30:18
We don't want to hear the truth. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it makes us uncomfortable. Sometimes it forces us to see a reality we'd really rather avoid. We'd rather focus on pleasant lies than to see a painful truth.
I had a friend who was going through a really painful divorce. Betrayal. Lies. Her whole world was shattered and what she'd believed was not the truth. She dealt with it by refusing to listen to anything unhappy. No unhappy music. No unhappy stories. No unhappy moments. She could pretend she was happy if she could only surround herself with happy people and happy events. It didn't keep the pain away. It only prolonged the time between betrayal and healing.
Isn't that how we all are? We'd rather pretend that everything is okay rather than face the truth. God wants us to obey Him. He wants to give us good things. But sometimes we bring disaster down on our own heads with rebellion that reflects our desires rather than God's will for our lives.
It's so much easier to pretend that everything is okay. We don't want to confront a cheating spouse. We don't want to walk away from a friendship that repeatedly leads us to sin. We don't want to stand firm when our boss urges us to lie. We want to do what's easy, what allows us to avoid confrontation. But any action or inaction that abandons God's law for the desires of someone else is just wrong.
I'm all about avoidance. I could have a master's degree in it because of all the practical experience I've received over the years. It doesn't make the pain go away. And it doesn't change the reality. It just insures that I'll continue to be a slave to someone else's will so long as I choose the illusion over the truth.
God gives us truth. He gives us protection from our enemies. He stands firmly beside us when we stand in truth. Obey His Word and you'll find freedom that is far better than any illusion every could be.
