Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Isaiah 55:1-2
I recently had a bout with food poisoning after eating at a restaurant and my gut was in so much pain it was paralyzing. In fact, while the poison was working its way out of my body, it disrupted everything—including the plans I had. So I had to sit still. No work. No hiking. The next morning, it was difficult to get out of bed. My stomach was still cramping. And to top it all off, the power went off at the house. Ugh!
But as I began slogging around (with no coffee) God reminded me of the obvious—there was nothing keeping me from the fellowship of His table!
Ah, how good God is! So I opened to where I had been studying in Isaiah chapter 55. As I began to read the first two verses, I laughed out loud at God’s humor, “Listen carefully to Me and eat what is GOOD.” As I thought about the spiritual message which strongly correlated with the physical pain of eating what is NOT good, I gave thanks to God.
God is always so good to take our pain and work it for good.
God’s goodness is always the best. In His presence we find the clearest most thirst-quenching water and most satisfying food—for our soul.
There is no food poisoning or polluted water at God’s table.
Even when our body is broken, God still satisfies our soul. He freely gives us the fruit of His Spirit—love, joy, peace, comfort, kindness—to satisfy our soul. To invest more of our time and resources into a relationship with Him is the best decision we can make. Indeed, “Why do you spend money for what is NOT bread, and your wages for what does NOT satisfy?” God offers us His best.
Jesus paid the ultimate price to give us salvation and bring us to His table.
The more we surrender every part of our life to God after we are born again, the more we are completely satisfied. This has been the theme of God’s Word from the beginning and it has not changed!
Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! There shall be no foreign god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god. I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels.
Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, but their fate would endure forever. He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; and with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you. Psalms 81:8-16
Each day we have a choice—worship and serve God who frees and nurtures us—or worship and serve a god who enslaves, starves, and poisons us.
