October 12 thru 18, 2009

Day One, Isaiah 54:14; In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression for you shall not fear; and from terror for it shall not come near you. When we first read verses such as this we may be tempted to dismiss them as the Pollyanna pronouncements of someone who has lost all touch with reality. But upon deeper reflection, we realize the truth of these words. When we establish ourselves in a personal relationship with Almighty God then we know that like a caring parent, he is concerned about every area of our lives—not just the spiritual aspects. This doesn’t mean that we will not face struggles and difficulties, for wise parents know that it is through allowing such things that their children develop strength and learn the lessons of life. This verse does teach us that because our outlook on life is shaped by one of faith and hope that even those things that would otherwise cause us mental anguish and terror have their impact diminished because we know God is there and will not allow us to be stretched beyond our capabilities.

Day Two, Isaiah 55:1; 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. Most of us have to make a pilgrimage to the grocery store at least once a week because we are in need of things to nourish and sustain our physical bodies. When we need groceries, we don’t go to a clothing store or the automobile showroom. Why? Because we have learned, from an early age that to get groceries we have to go to the place specializing in the sale of foodstuff. The allegory that is used in our text today would seem to indicate that we must realize that in the marketplace of life there is only one place to get the victuals we need to nourish and sustain our mental and spiritual well being.

Day Three, Isaiah 55:2; Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy. Listen carefully to me and eat what is good… Several years ago a man was referred to me for counseling. His life had been torn apart by a series of job losses and a tumultuous marriage (which had ended in divorce). He had reached the point where the stress and anxiety had taken a toll on him mentally and physically. As long as he had money (this was before insurance covered such things) the mental health professionals were treating him and providing medication. But once his money ran out, he was left only one alternative, that of being institutionalized in a mental hospital. After talking with those who had been treating him (with his permission), I decided to try to help him. I am not a miracle worker, nor a psychiatrist, just a simple preacher who believes in the power of faith to transform lives. He and I began a regimen designed to rebuild his faith, and eventually, he was able to control his anxieties and hold a job. This allowed him to afford the needed medication to treat his other problems. I was reminded of this incident recently when I read that research has shown that talk therapy was often just as effective as drug therapy in treating many anxiety induced maladies. The article concluded that most people preferred drug therapy over talk therapy because they didn’t have to confront their anxieties and deal with them. Don’t get me wrong, I believe we should avail ourselves of every available wonder of medical science that God has blessed us with, but there are times when confronting our anxieties through the application of faith, hope and spiritual disciplines can be just as effective.

Day Four, Isaiah 55:3; Incline your ear, and come to me; listen so that you may live…In the age that Isaiah lived, the word picture that is painted in the first three verses brought to mind the marketplace where vendors hawked their wares and haggled with customers over price. Today’s verse encourages us to tune our ears to one voice among the many and make our way over to his stall in order to be able to hear clearly what he has to say. Today, we live in a marketplace of ideas. As we daily make our way through the narrow streets of this market we are bombarded with competing voices enticing us to check out what is offered. The voice that is raised in this verse isn’t offering something new, rather it is offering something tried by millions of people and tested in the fires of adversity. And he says it will give us what we need to really live life to it’s fullest. That’s because it comes from the source of dynamic, abundant, vibrant life—God himself!

Day Five, Isaiah 55:6; Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. Recently, I needed to talk with someone whom I hadn’t spoken with in several months. I couldn’t recall the company he worked for and he had an unlisted telephone number. I remembered that he had given me a business card, so I began a systematic search for it. It wasn’t in my card file, nor was it in the stack of cards that I had thrown into a desk drawer. After more than an hour, I found it under my desk pad (how it got there, I’ll never know). Having found the card I was able to call the man and reestablish our relationship. It is unfortunate, but too many of us treat our relationship with God the same way. We know him, but get so involved in the affairs of life (especially when things are going smoothly) that we fail to keep his “business card” handy. Then when we need him we have to turn everything upside down to find it. Now, I know this is a poor illustration but it does make the point that Isaiah is trying to convey—if you’ve misplaced that vital link with God, find it now, you never know when you might need to call him. In fact you might want to call him daily, if for nothing more than to simply chat!

Day Six, Isaiah 55:7; Let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord that he may have mercy on them…This is the great verse of hope that offers everyone the opportunity for restoration and renewal. It tells us that no matter how deeply ingrained our habit of waywardness may be, or how low we may be have sunk, that all we have to do is give ourselves permission to turn around and find help and wholeness in the arms of our heavenly father. Now, some might balk at this thought because “it is not up to man but God”. This idea is not rooted in the Bible, but in Calvinism, which would have us believe that God looks down upon the “wicked” and decides that out of ten people, he will only “draw” one or two to himself and “to hell with the rest!” Under this pernicious teaching, grace then is restricted only to those “chosen” few and regardless of the sincere desire the others may have to get off “the way”, they have to continue on it. But we know that grace has been extended to everyone through Jesus Christ. He said that if he was lifted up, he would “draw all people” to himself. In other words, when a person realizes he is on the wrong path and decides to turn around (gives himself permission), he can find his way back to God and wholeness. No, he doesn’t earn this right because he is simply availing himself of what has already been offered. Through Jesus Christ, amnesty has been offered to all who give themselves permission to trust him, turn around, lay down their “weapons” and take up his cause.

Day Seven, Isaiah 55:8,9; For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord…This verse answers the oft asked question of why things are the way they are in the world. The good Lord made us rational beings, capable of doing our own thinking rather than robots with programmable chips. This lesson is first illustrated in the story about Adam and Eve. We are told that when they “saw” that the tree was good for food, they ate the fruit. The word “saw” refers not to an impulsive act, but to an action that was carefully thought out. When the point of reference for our “thinking” is strictly self-centered, we can follow a path that seems right, but makes us incompatible with God. As in marriage, such incompatibility leads to divorce. It is no wonder that Paul said that as Christians, we should seek to Let (give permission for) the mind of Christ dwell in us (learn to think the same way God does).