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;
7let 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.
8For 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,
11so 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. 10: Rain and snow. Beautiful weather conditions, but sometimes they give us problems. Driving along a road in the midst of a whiteout blizzard can actually kill us. Likewise, standing in the middle of a torrent of rain for an extended period of time can make the human body very sick. On the other hand, these conditions can be a blessing. At Christmastime, when everything is rather bleak and dry, that little bit of snow adds moisture and beauty to the surroundings. In a hot, dry summer, a good rain is welcomed most thoroughly. God's spoken word is like these conditions. His words can be dangerous, and can cause our lives to be lived on the edge. Yet, despite the extremities, his words can be welcome, and add beauty to our broken world. In fact, his words don't just add beauty: they are the essence of beauty. God's words are not sent down from heaven only to be pulled back up again. He loves us, keeps his word, and wants his word to take root in the hearts of all his creation: especially his chosen people.
Vs. 11: God is all-powerful. When he says he is going to do something, he does it. With his words he shows us who he is and how we are to respond to that. Ultimately, God reminds us in this passage that his word will succeed at whatever it sets out to do. When I was titling this post, I thought through this success factor, and its relation to listening. When I formed the title, I was concerned that it might sound like some sort of health and wealth prosperity gospel. Then I realized that this is the truth: we must listen in order to succeed. For isn't it true that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me?" At the same time, the opposite is equally true. Essentially, we cannot do all things without Christ who strengthens us. Listening to, and obeying God, are the key to true success. This is because Biblical success is not defined by how much money you make, how famous you are, or even how good of a family life you lead. Success, in God's Book (literally!), is defined by God's success, and how closely you are following to his mission. Considering that the Bible is the ultimate authority, it might be wise to take this seriously. If, at the end of your life, you can say that though you certainly have not had a perfect, sinless, life, you have, by the grace of God sought at every moment to please him in every way, and to follow him in perfect obedience to the best of your human ability, then you have been successful, because we have seen a purpose bigger than ourselves, and as big as the God who created the entire universe. No one, of course, is perfect, but we can do our best as God gives us grace to live humbly with him every day. In the end, then, to listen is to succeed.
Tomorrow: Worship that joy may abound.
Seeking to listen to Him,
Meridian
No comments:
Post a Comment