In Scotland on July 1, 1838, Robert Murray M’Cheyne preached on Isaiah 44:3. He said to his church, “When two travelers are going through the wilderness, you may know which of them is thirsty by his always looking out for wells.… So it is with thirsty believers; they love the Word, read and preached—they thirst for it more and more. Is it so with you, dear believing brethren?” The relieving of thirst is one of the Bible’s favorite ways of describing what it’s like to experience the blessing of God. When our souls are desolate and barren, He is pleased to refresh us by His Spirit, enabling us to become the kind of people we could never be in our own power. As we yield our proud self-ownership to the LORD, we discover that He who formed us can also transform us for His glory. Under the influence of His Spirit, we will no longer be people sitting on the fence. Instead, we will gladly identify with Christ, eager to announce with strong conviction, “I am the LORD’s” (v 1-5). God is sovereign in this work of spiritual revival, but our role is to be fearless witnesses, living proof that God alone is enough to satisfy thirsty people. Every idol is a mere pretender. Only the true, unchanging God can provide real stability in this always changing and unstable world (v 6-8). So Isaiah goes to great lengths to show that idolatry is not only profoundly offensive to God, it is also profoundly stupid. How can something made by humans save humans? Such gods must always fail their worshipers, whose lives foolishly bear witness to absurdity and emptiness. Truly, our only hope is the living God. Yet people are easily deceived, so our world today is still crowded with idols. Even believers in Jesus are tempted to succumb to their appeal. If we are not experiencing the reviving fullness of God’s Spirit, there is always one reason: our idols have gotten in the way (v 9-20). The LORD desires that we forsake every God-substitute and return to Him, remembering who He is and what He has done. As Creator, Redeemer, and Lord of History, He has not only blotted out our transgressions, He constantly fulfills all His purposes for the well-being of His servants. The life we long for will only be ours when we are in a right relationship with Him (v 21-28). With Christ as our treasure, worldly treasures lose their appeal anyway. This is why a sensible person is always willing to let go of his idols. As A.W. Tozer wrote, “Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and he has it purely, legitimately, forever.” For further meditation: