Isaiah 55: Pt. 4- Know, that you may worship

Isn't God's goodness just remarkable? Today I want to continue to explore this remarkable passage from Isaiah. You might be wondering why I am  posting the entire passage every day. Quite honestly, I find it amazingly refreshing to read the entire thing every day. But, of course, that is completely up to you as to whether or not you would like to do the same. :)

Isaiah 55

The Compassion of the LORD

 ¹ "Come, everyone who thirsts,
   come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
   without money and without price.
² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
   and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
   and delight yourselves in rich food.
³Incline your ear, and come to me;
    hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
    my steadfast, sure love for David.
⁴ Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
    a leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵ Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
   and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has glorified you.  
⁶ "Seek the LORD while he may be found;
   call upon him while he is near;
⁷ let the wicked forsake his way,
   and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
   and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts.
 ¹⁰ "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
   and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
   it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
   and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
 ¹² "For you shall go out in joy
   and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
   shall break forth into singing,
   and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
   instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the LORD,
   an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

Vs. 8:  God is an amazing God who has created the whole universe, and holds every detail of it right within his hand. His thoughts are not our thoughts. He is so much greater than us, and we ought to be in awe of that fact. In the same way, God reminds us that his ways are not our ways. God is our superior in every respect: that he accepts and loves us as his children is completely unfathomable! Wow!

Vs. 9: God continues to remind us of his power. A God who loves us so greatly, and who controls so much, should be the focus of all our attention: he is truly worthy! Not just that, but we are unworthy of his love. The deeper we get to know him, the more we'll love him. The more we love him, the more we'll worship. I don't know about you, but I want to be a worshiper! I want to love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and use every moment of every day to please him. Now, of course, I am human and simply cannot live up to that standard. But I can certainly try. This is much of the topic of St. Augustine's Confessions, in which he realizes his own sin, and God's greatness, and suddenly he wants to please him at every moment of every day. When we read through works like this one, we should be inspired to do the same, because what a mighty God we serve! If we know how great he is, we should be moved to worship him in total devotion.

Tomorrow: Listen that you may succeed

Serving him in awe,

Meridian