Isaiah 55 (HCSB)
Come to the Lord
1 “Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!
2 Why do you spend money on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.
3 Pay attention and come to Me; listen, so that you will live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the promises assured to David.
4 Since I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples,
5 so you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you will run to you. For the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel, has glorified you.”
6 Seek the Lord while He may be found; call to Him while He is near.
7 Let the wicked one abandon his way and the sinful one his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, so He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will freely forgive.
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
9 “For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return there without saturating the earth and making it germinate and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat,
11 so My word that comes from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do.”
12 You will indeed go out with joy and be peacefully guided; the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will come up, and instead of the brier, a myrtle will come up; it will make a name for Yahweh as an everlasting sign that will not be destroyed.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 6-7): Far too often I give into the thoughts produced by my flesh, the world, and the enemy, Father. Please forgive me for having and giving into these sinful thoughts, Father. Help me to remember to seek You always, but especially when my thought life is not in line with Your thoughts and Your way, Father. Help me to be better at guarding my mind.
PROMISE (verse 3): You promise us, Father, that You have made an everlasting covenant with us. That we are saved and will live forever through You. Help me to embrace this promise, Father, so that I may always listen to You and pay attention to Your words and Your will for this life.
ATTITUDE (verse 2): Father, I have an attitude of frivolous spending. Sometimes it is for good things that please You, but far too often it’s for selfish desires. Help me to align my attitude of frivolous spending so I may be able to accomplish more for Your Kingdom in this life, Father.
COMMAND (verses 3, 6, 8-9): You repeat Yourself again, Father, so what You’re saying here must be important. You tell us to seek You, listen to You, pay attention to You, and to go to You. You tell us to do these things and to keep our focus on You because Your ways and Your thoughts are better than our own. Help me to embrace this command, Father, so I may keep You as my life’s focus through all things.
EXAMPLE (verses 6-7, 11-12): You give an amazing example here, Father, of how we should follow You. Help me to seek You and be near to You in all things so that I abandon my sinful ways. Help me to live a life of joy and to lean on Your peaceful guidance. Help me to embrace Your word so that Your Kingdom may prosper from my actions in this life, Father.
*DAILY NOTE: My thought life has probably been my biggest obstacle to overcome throughout my faith walk with You, Father. I far too often give into so many of the negative thoughts that run through my head and dwell on things in my head that I’m hurt by for far too long. Please help me to be better at having a more God-focused thought life. Help me to keep protections up against the enemy, against my sinful nature, and against the worldly influences on my thought life, Father. Thank You for remaining faithful through all the things You know I’m thinking in my head that I never reveal to anyone. Thank You for showing unending grace for all of that, Father.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
Comments