This pathway is one that I have traveled many, many times. My first journey on the Isaiah 55 road was as a young college student during my spring break. Being new to faith in Christ and to the Bible, I was unfamiliar with this part of scripture. Lying on the living room floor with my grandmother’s Bible opened to this chapter, I spent the better part of the day eating and drinking  these words which were a feast for my hungry, thirsty soul. Since then I have returned frequently to let  these words nourish me in barren or wayward seasons. Everytime I come to this passage, I always feel invited.

Ho, everyone who is thirsty, come to the waters;

and he who has no money, come buy and eat!

Come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isa.55:1

Ho can also be translated, Hey, Listen, You there! God is actually trying to grab our attention, lest we think that this invitation isn’t for us. Hey, listen, everyone – yes, even me, yes, even you – come, come, come. 

My excuse to resist this invitation may be that I don’t believe that this offer could actually be for me. I don’t deserve to come to God, I haven’t done enough good deeds, I have done too many bad deeds, I don’t go to church, I don’t have the spiritual currency to qualify for this invitation. But wait, what does this scripture say are the terms of this invitation to his table? No money? No price? How can it be that food, wine, milk, all representative of spiritual bounty, can be ours without money or price? Besides, what if the “food” that is being offered at this table is actually an invitation to a boring religious life? Do I really want that?

God in turn asks those who might be considering this invitation a penetrating question:

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread? And why do you 

spend your labor for that which does not satisfy? Isa.55:2 (italics mine)

 How satisfied is your soul by those things that you are pursuing? Does money and more money buy you the kind of food that satiates your hungry soul? Does your career, your education, your straining to be a good person, your entertainment, your appearance, your achievements actually relieve your soul’s hunger pangs? Don’t they merely offer a temporary high and then leave you craving for more?

For me as a young college student reading this for the first time, I knew that the education that I was pursuing and the career that I would enter into and the money that I would make to live the quintessential American dream was hollow. The words,” labor for that which does not satisfy” resonated deeply. So how do I access this promised nourishment for my soul?

Hearken diligently to me and eat what is good,

and delight yourself in fatness!

Incline your ear and come to me; hear that your soul may live!

And I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast sure love for David.                                              Isa.55:2,3

Once God has our attention, He beckons us to lean in closer. Hearken diligently to Me, listen carefully to Me and keep listening, pay attention and focus on Me. Incline your ear toward Me, because I have something to say to you, I want to speak to you. What would God want to say to me? Does He have my full attention? Does He want to remind me of all the things that I have done wrong? Does He want to tell me what a disappointment I am to Him? Does He have some kind of penance for me to accomplish before I accept His invitation to the table? And how do I get still enough and close enough to listen to what He has to say? For me, reading at length through Isaiah 55 was a way to incline my ear so that I might  hear Him speak through the scriptures.

“Eat what is good and delight yourself in fatness”, is His response.  His portion is good, nourishing soul satisfying, thirst quenching, abundant, calorie-dense, dripping with Omega-3s fare. The “ delight myself in fatness” line made me laugh; for a girl who was always trying to lose weight and count calories, this was outrageous! He certainly had my attention. The table is set and there is an empty seat for me and for you, for us to begin to partake of the stuff that our souls need to live and thrive. And the invitation is based on love, not performance. It is based on our willingness to come and accept that our souls are bankrupt and emaciated without Him. This love, the same love that He exhibited toward David, is a patient, steadfast, covenantal, everlasting love. 

But how long is this invitation available? What if I decide to live a little and come back after I have explored my other options?

Seek the Lord while he may be found. 

Call upon Him while He is near.

Of course God does not force us to return to Him and sit at the table with Him and partake of that which He has prepared for us. It is an invitation, but we must be aware that if we choose to explore, indulge, rebel, get to the end of ourselves a little bit more, it may be too late. We do not have control over the number of days; circumstances are beyond our control. So the invitation is for now; He is near.

Let the wicked forsake His way and the unrighteous man his thoughts.

Let him return to the Lord, that He may have mercy on Him,

and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. Isa.55:6,7

  My natural inclinations and my hidden thoughts are wayward, rebellious, selfish, even wicked.  Even with a hungry soul, I am often tempted to find my food at tables other than the one that the Lord invites me to.  Countless times since that first time reading these words, I have realized and acknowledged that I have departed from his table. Perhaps I have become too busy. Perhaps I have been enticed by ambition or appearances. Perhaps I have become apathetic. The only thing that returning to the seat at His table costs me is my willingness to humbly confess thoughts and ways that have displeased and dishonored him. Jesus’ disciple John says it this way,

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8,9

 Forsake and return, I have come to realize are a repeated process as I see my shortcomings more and more clearly after sitting in His presence. And how am I received when I recognize and let go of wicked ways and when I confess my unrighteous thoughts? Mercy and abundant pardon are generously available after each of these departures and I am welcomed back to the table of relationship with our Creator. Truly the more I spend time at the table of his presence, the more I am grieved by my departures, the more quickly I return and the less appealing other tables have become. 

Perhaps you have hesitated accepting the invitation to return to the Lord because of your dread of His disdain and disapproval. Let these words encourage you. 

“Let him [let yourself] return to the Lord, that He may have mercy on him [you], and to our God for He will abundantly pardon him [you].” 

Forsake the ways that will never satisfy the hunger in your soul, forsake the unrighteous thoughts that are hidden to the world but are entirely visible to holy God. And if it is too hard to do this, and it is, ask God, the Holy Spirit to help you. Let Him know that you agree with His assessment that the way you have tried to think and live have fallen far short of the satisfaction of being in his presence. Let Him know that you want to listen, learn and receive from Him as you let go of your own ways and thoughts. Have mercy on me and pardon me, for You are my God. 

The disciple John writes echos of Isaiah 55 in the closing book of the Bible as a final appeal to come to Him in Revelation 22:17

The Spirit and the Bride say,”Come.” And let him who hears say, “Come.” And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price.

Have you ever considered this invitation to come to God’s table? 

Why do you think that the scripture uses a table and meal as an allegory for relationship with God and satisfaction for our souls?

What do you picture if you were to be invited to sit at a table with Jesus? 

Would it feel awkward? 

Would you feel unworthy?

If you were to lean in to listen to what He wants to tell you, would you be excited?

Would you fear what He might say? 

Do you believe that He wants your soul to live full and free?

Do you believe that He offers an enduring, love-based relationship?

Do you know that Jesus paid in full for this seat in the Father’s presence?

Will you come?