Invited to God's Party

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Opening Prayer

Sovereign Lord, this day is Yours. I offer You my acceptance for what You send. Help me find You in all things.

Read Isaiah 55:1-13

^[1] “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. ^[2] 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. ^[3] Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. ^[4] See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples. ^[5] Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.” ^[6] Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. ^[7] Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. ^[8] “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. ^[9] “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ^[10] 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, ^[11] 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. ^[12] 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. ^[13] Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”

Meditate

Here, the prophet invites us to turn to the things that really matter (2b). Forget the lights and dazzle all around us. Turn to the glorious universe, the ordered world of nature, and to the One who alone can satisfy (7).

Think Further

We all love a party, spending time with friends, eating, drinking and catching up. God’s message here taps into that shared human experience of hunger and thirst as he issues an invitation to come and “delight in the richest of fare” (2). The only prerequisites are admissions of one’s thirst and an inability to satisfy one’s own needs with one’s own meager resources.

This invitation from the Lord is not for mere physical sustenance: refreshment is obtained by listening to him and seeking him (2,6). It is made in the context of a people who were beneficiaries of the Lord’s covenant with David but whose ways and thoughts had strayed far from him. Joy and peace–along with God’s pardon–were again possible if they would accept his gracious invitation. The one whose ways and thoughts were immeasurably beyond theirs was eagerly inviting them to a restored relationship and a productive new life!

Each time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper we remember that Christ’s body was broken and his blood was shed to bring us life, and we eat and drink with thanksgiving (1 Cor. 11:24-26). We recall that Jesus spoke of himself as “living water” and the “bread of life” and promised that those who came to him would never be thirsty or hungry again (John 4:13,14; 6:35). This repeated commemoration reminds us that God’s invitation to be refreshed by him is ongoing. How easy it is for us to be so preoccupied with legitimate but secondary activities that we forget to “seek the Lord” and drink deeply of the water of life that sustains our souls. How sad if we were to be like those in the parable of the banquet who made seemingly trivial excuses and missed out on the delights of accepting the invitation to the party (Luke 14:15-24).

Apply

Isaiah compares eating nourishing good food (1,2) with a satisfying walk with the Lord. How would you describe your recent walk: like eating spiritual junk food or God’s healthy low-fat meal? Commit to “feeding” on God and his Word.

Closing prayer

Heavenly Father, I stand in constant need of Your mercy and grace. By the Spirit, flow through my spiritual exercises, and work with me to bring Your fullness and satisfaction to me.

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