“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food. “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David. See how I used him to display my power among the peoples. I made him a leader among the nations. You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.” Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”

Isaiah 55

Dear God, this is such a loving message from you through Isaiah. I know it was meant for another audience. You didn’t necessarily say it with a Gentile in the year 2021 in mind. Sure, it might apply to me, but what it definitely says is that you are so good. You are so loving. You want the best for us as your children.

Not that our lives will be easy. Not that we won’t face challenges, sorrow, or tragedies. But you will be there with us through thick and thin. You will reach out and love us. You will comfort us. Ultimately, we will be with you. We will be free from this. But even if we weren’t, the idea that you’re out there loving me is enough for me…I think.

Father, I confess that I am weak. My emotions ebb and flow. My faith is like the wind, blowing this way and that. I know that if I were to really suffer–and I don’t really know what real suffering is–then it would be harder for me to say words like this and believe them. But in this moment, right now, I am so delighted to call you my God. I love you and I want to do my part to be in this relationship.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen