Invitation to the Needy
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods. Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion assured to David. Behold, I have made him a witness to the nations, a leader and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you will run to you. For the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, has bestowed glory on you.”
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.
You will indeed go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will grow, and instead of the brier, a myrtle will spring up; they will make a name for the LORD as an everlasting sign, never to be destroyed.”
This small chapter has so much spiritual meat in it that it’s tempting to break it up into tiny chunks. Certainly, many devotionals have been written using only one or two verses.
- Food for the soul – “Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods. Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live.” God promises to nourish our souls in ways only He can. Many believers have claimed these verses as their own, begging God to open their hearts to new spiritual insights.
- God’s covenant with David is an everlasting one. -“I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion assured to David. Behold, I have made him a witness to the nations, a leader and commander of the peoples. Wait a minute! David? David the adulterer??? Yes, that same David. David’s repentance from the Bathsheba affair may have been the most complete act of repentance ever witnessed. When God makes a covenant, He ALWAYS keeps His side of the bargain, even when we falter.
- God bestows glory for His Name’s sake.– “Surely you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you will run to you. For the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, has bestowed glory on you.” Notice, these nations are running to believers because they see the glory of the Lord shining through them. Many times, we fail to realize the immensity of the God whom we serve; only those around us may see that glory.
- God continues to offer pardon for all who will repent. – “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.” God never gives up on anybody, no matter how wicked they are. As an example, had Hitler repented just before he committed suicide, God would still have forgiven him for the mass murder of the Jews in the concentration camps.
- God’s ways are higher than ours and His Word always gets results. ““For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.“ It was 1980 and my beloved mother was dying with cancer and other infections. My father was in agony one morning when a Swedish visitor suddenly turned to him and said, “Remember, Lowell, the Bible says that God’s ways are higher than ours.” This quote from Isaiah 55 comforted my father but perplexed him. Our visitor was not particularly religious; how did he produce this quote at just the right time? Well, God once used Balaam’s donkey to warn him. Why couldn’t God put those words in that young man’s heart for just this occasion?
- God promises to lead us out of our difficulties, as the land rejoices before Him. “You will indeed go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will grow, and instead of the brier, a myrtle will spring up; they will make a name for the LORD as an everlasting sign, never to be destroyed.” When the Holy Spirit descends, marvelous things happen! Deserts flower, dry streams flow, barren sands break forth with streams of clear sweet water, and flowers blossom as they never have before. Are you in the middle of a muddle? Have you set out to drain a swamp, only to find yourself up to your rear end in alligators or crocodiles? Take heart! God can still deliver miraculously; He’s got a great track record.
Today is my 75th birthday. I received Jesus as my Savior and Lord 60 years ago. During those 60 years, God has taken me from a Midwestern farm to New York City to Memphis, TN, to New Orleans, LA, and then to Ghana. Never has God let me down, even when I have gone through the danger of a tribal conflict. God has provided and continues to provide for my husband and me. I can truly say that God has kept me every second and that He will continue to keep me to the end.
““Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods. Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live.” Re – read that invitation in the first verses of this chapter. That invitation is for everyone, including you. Why not accept it today?
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, please speak to the hearts of everyone who reads these words. Let them turn to You, the only One who can save and heal them. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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