August 1 - Isaiah 55:6-13

August 1 – Isaiah 55:6-13

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, 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.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in 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 will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed.”

Sometimes it is difficult for us to comprehend the depth of God’s forgiveness. It makes absolutely no sense to us.  When we would punish, God offers forgiveness.  When we would shun someone, God offers grace.  The sin doesn’t matter, the cry of the sinner is everything to Him.

These verses tell us that we will never be able to comprehend God’s thoughts or the things that He does. 

1 Corinthians tells us that it won’t be until we are in heaven that we will know fully (1 Cor. 13:12).  We are so limited by our own perspective, our selfish behavior, our misconceptions, our pain, our anger, our demands, our needs, our sometimes one-sided sense of right and wrong, our desires … things about which God cares nothing when it comes to loving us.  His thoughts and His ways are higher than anything we can begin to imagine.

He promises that He will send His word to us.  Whether we see this as Scripture, as Jesus Christ, or as God’s touch on our lives, His promise is that it will do exactly what it is God wants it to do.  We will go out in joy and peace and as His word works in our lives, we will bring the Lord glory.

There is such a thread of power flowing through these verses.  God offers us freedom in forgiveness.  This is forgiveness that we can’t understand, but it is there all the same.  His word comes from Him to us and will transform us and the world around us.  When we are free, we can accept and be filled with God’s word.  When we are filled with God’s word, we can move throughout the world in joy.  When we move throughout the world in joy, we bring God glory.

It’s really as simple as that!