Isaiah
55 reminds me of an invitation I once got from a frequent diner in a
restaurant I managed. He told me he was a pilot and said he would
like to take me up one day. Upon arriving at the airport, I was
stunned to see the tiny plane, and even more amazed to learn that he
was a world-class acrobatic pilot. Our short stomach turning flight
was an unexpected thrill ride. In today’s chapter, Isaiah shouts a
different kind of invitation. “Come,
all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no
money, come, buy and eat! Come…
without money and without cost“.
This is not the kind of enticement the world offers. He asks “Why
spend… your labor on what does not satisfy?”
Many things promise to make us happy, but fall short of
expectations. Isaiah continues, “Listen
to me, and eat what is good… listen, that you may live“.
Far too many people are just existing; just holding on, unaware that
lack of peace with God has them stuck on the ground. As my pilot
friend strapped me into his Pitts Special, I suddenly realized the
seriousness of the decision. I was trusting him with my life.
Through my helmet communication he spoke of g-force and
specifications, answering each of my questions with a new maneuver.
Are you ready for a new offer?
Isaiah
speaks God’s words to us, “I
will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised
to David“. And he reminds us
of the original promise that the salvation of the world would come
through the Son of David. “I
have made Him
a witness to the peoples… you will summon nations you know not…
because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has
endowed you with splendor“.
Isaiah adds, “Seek the LORD
while He may be found; call on Him while He is near“.
He addresses, “the wicked”
and “the unrighteous”
instructing, “Let them turn to
the LORD, and He will have mercy on them, and to our God, for He will
freely pardon“.
My pilot friend gave my only
one order to follow, “Do not touch the aircraft control stick”.
I listened with fear and confidence that he knew what he was doing.
Isaiah
writes what my experience has confirmed; the wisdom of God is greater
than anything the world devises. “For
My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways…
As the heavens are higher than
the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than
your thoughts“. God’s Word
produces life, “making it bud
and flourish“. It also comes
with a promise to all who listen, “It
will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and
achieve the purpose for which I sent it“.
To those that listen to hear, “You
will go out in joy and be led forth in peace“.
The chapter closes with even more promises, “the
mountains and hills will burst into song before you“.
God’s creation shouts of His incredible design. Then something
wonderful happens, “Instead of
the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle
will grow“. He is saying the
prickly irritants begin to flower and the annoyances begin to bless.
He calls the change God produces in us “an
everlasting sign that will endure forever“.
Make no mistake, this all begins with accepting the invitation. In
John 7:37, Jesus said, “Let
anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me,
as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within
them“. An amazing ride is
offered to all who accept the invitation. Are you ready?