Lenten Devotion

Isaiah 55:1–9

Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God is up to something, not just in our reading for today, but here in the present. The people of Israel are promised a new thing, a new beginning, a renewal of spirit. That promise still stands for us today. God is up to something right now. As we enter this third season of Lent, still in the pandemic, I think we all are thirsting for something new. There is a calling to the water that is abundant. God is calling us to the water and will fulfill a new promise—one filled with hope and far greater than we could ever imagine. God’s plans may not be our plans; God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. God is up to something and that something is new and surprising. God is inviting us in. Will you join?

Prayer: Holy God, invite us into your vision, and fill us with your promise. Bring your good news to us through word, song, and the actions of your people. In Christ, your Son, we pray. Amen