Toolkit #19 Isaiah 55, Again!

So today, I met with my Spiritual Director, which I do on a monthly basis. Interestingly, she began our time by reading Isaiah 55! I love when God is meddling deep in our lives. You may recall that was our scripture for yesterday’s bible study. I have been sitting with Come, Listen, why do you….that which does not satisfy? I have been hearing my friend singing in my head (which is lots better than me singing, but I did catch myself singing the refrain down the hall late yesterday!)…she was singing, “Come To The Water”.
Now, it could just be that I have a yearning to go the beach – and it’s been far too long! But Something tells me that there is a deeper meaning here. Come, Ellen. Come to the Water. Listen. Be satisfied. Be. I am here. You are enough. You are not judged, so do not judge yourself when adverse things happen.
Come. Listen. Be satisfied.

You might even go to You Tube and listen to Matt Maher's, Come to the Water (with lyrics).



So today, sit with this scripture…as it is found in The Message, and listen.

1-5 "Hey there! All who are thirsty,
come to the water!
Are you penniless?
Come anyway—buy and eat!
Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk.
Buy without money—everything's free!
Why do you spend your money on junk food,
your hard-earned cash on cotton candy?
Listen to me, listen well: Eat only the best,
fill yourself with only the finest.
Pay attention, come close now,
listen carefully to my life-giving, life-nourishing words.
I'm making a lasting covenant commitment with you,
the same that I made with David: sure, solid, enduring love.
I set him up as a witness to the nations,
made him a prince and leader of the nations,
And now I'm doing it to you:
You'll summon nations you've never heard of,
and nations who've never heard of you
will come running to you
Because of me, your God,
because The Holy of Israel has honored you."
6-7Seek God while he's here to be found,
pray to him while he's close at hand.
Let the wicked abandon their way of life
and the evil their way of thinking.
Let them come back to God, who is merciful,
come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness.
8-11"I don't think the way you think.
The way you work isn't the way I work."
God's Decree.
"For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
and don't go back until they've watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
not come back empty-handed.
They'll do the work I sent them to do,
they'll complete the assignment I gave them.
12-13"So you'll go out in joy,
you'll be led into a whole and complete life.
The mountains and hills will lead the parade,
bursting with song.
All the trees of the forest will join the procession,
exuberant with applause.
No more thistles, but giant sequoias,
no more thornbushes, but stately pines—
Monuments to me, to God,
living and lasting evidence of God."