Lent Reading: Isaiah 55:1-9 

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. 

When do we listen to God? God has words which bring life, renewal, challenge, change. In Isaiah 55:10-11 God says his words are like rain that waters the earth to bring forth flourishing plants. God’s words will accomplish what God desires. These are the words which have created the cosmos, called Israel as God’s people, teach people to live in God’s ways. These are the words that are good for us, bring forth life within us, strengthen our purpose and place. When might we listen to God? 

In Isaiah 55:1-9 notice these phrases: ‘thirsty’, ‘no money’, ‘does not satisfy’, ‘may live’. We may be ready to listen to God, when we have spent all we have. When our souls have become famished because we feasted on emptiness. Have you been here? Spiritually empty, thirsty? Yet even when we are desperately empty, we still may not listen to God. 

In our desperation it would be no surprise if we approached God begging for water and bread. Yet it is God who approaches us with an extraordinary invitation of grace, “you who have no money, come, buy and eat”. Here is God’s richest fare that satisfies our deepest thirsts, for free. Who would not accept this offer? Yet here God is begging us to come. That is how hard hearted we can be. Even when we are in desperate need, still we will not listen to God. 

But if you are thirsty, if you are famished, even when you have nothing to offer, God invites you to come and listen to him “that you may live”. There is no need to hold back, no need to wait. Come, listen, live. 

In Him, 

Jason 

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