For you will go out with joy

And be led forth with peace;

The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,

And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Isaiah 55:12

What does it really mean to thrive in a life with Christ? We hear it all the time in church. But it often feels like a mystical, pie-in-the-sky idea with no real substance.

Continuing our Isaiah 55 study, we see that all the previous verses lead up to this moment:

• An invitation to choose life abundantly with Him (vs. 1-2)

• An extended invitation towards those previously unchosen (vs. 3-5)

• A call to choose God over lesser things because He’s ready to forgive (vs. 6-7)

• A reminder He’s infinitely better than we could imagine and worthy of our trust (vs. 8-11)

Verse 12 says, “for you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace.” Everything God is calling us to accumulate in this promise of fullest joy and deepest peace. This is what it means to accept the offer to live a “life abundantly” with Him. God reveals our need for Him and how He alone can satisfy it beyond anything we could dream up.

But remember—this is an invitation, not a given. The joy and peace God offers come to those who choose Him instead of settling for lesser things.

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Sure, we can find joy and peace apart from Him, but it will never last or truly satisfy. We’ll be left wanting more and often feel more distraught than before. Our sorrow deepens when we see a taste of the joy and peace within reach but unable to fully grasp onto.

Imagine waiting all year to your long-awaited favorite holiday: Thanksgiving. Arriving to the dinner, your eyes can hardly believe the delicious spread which covers the entire table. Taking your first bite into the cranberry sauce, your lips pucker with satisfaction as you grab a spoonful of gravy to drizzle over perfectly tender turkey strips.

Sitting back in your chair you sigh—finally. But as you reach for your hot apple cider, you blink and everything has vanished. Not realizing your first bite would be your last, you’re left more hungry than before.

We can taste the joy from things around us, but they will only give us an illusion of the satisfaction they can give. Life without God can give us moments of enjoyment, but never the full feast. We might grow used to it and even feel content with what we have—but Isaiah 55 invites us to experience more.

Why is God different from other things we might enjoy in life? And how can He claim joy and peace in a world which operates in sin and injustice?

Every good thing we enjoy in life is created by God—for our delight. He cared very deeply that we wouldn’t just live in freedom but to enjoy life. He gives us gifts purely for our joy. But since we can see them and usually touch them, it’s easy to misuse them.

We begin to expect those gifts to do what they weren’t made for—and they begin to break. People, animals, food, nature and possessions can bring joy—but they will never give us our identity.

When we place our meaning and purpose in anything other than God, we start worshipping those things instead of Him. And when this happens, sin disrupts our lives.

Because sin is anything which keeps us from being with God—and what will give us what we want and need.

God designed us to worship Him and enjoy His gifts—not the other way around. Asking a telephone to wash your face or a rock to feed you makes no sense. Until we recognize what we’re worshipping besides God, we’ll only find fragments of joy and peace.

We’re not alone. All creation joins in to worship God and find joy in Him:

“The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,

And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”

When we find our purpose in God, we get to join all creation in worship of Him. Like the lilies of the field, the horses on the hills, and the fish in the sea—we move in joy and find our rest in Him.

“So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;

It will not return to Me empty,

Without accomplishing what I desire,

And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

(Isaiah 55:11)

Have you ever exaggerated while telling a story? Or said things that don’t really matter or have much use?

I’m sure we can all admit to either of those tendencies. It’s easy to talk, but not everything we say is productive. But that’s not the case with God.

In today’s verse, we’re learning about the power of God’s words. 

Every single word He’s spoken in Spirit and Word is productive: it produces something. Not only that, it produces precisely what He planned from the beginning.

That should make us all do a double-take at our Bibles. God has told us plainly what He will do - and it will happen. Imagine that was true for you and me, everything we said would happen.

That might be a terrifying thought. We don’t always have good intentions. We’re angry and say things we regret or speak when we should be listening. These aren’t our greatest moments and we like to forget that side of us exists.

But that isn’t true of God: what He says will happen. And His intentions are always pure, loving and good.

Some of His promises He’s already fulfilled in our life and we don’t always see it, while others are yet to come.

What does this make you feel? Excited? Maybe, scared? 

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Our response to this truth reveals what we feel about God. If we don’t believe He’s fully good, we won’t trust Him. So, when we hear all His promises - they fall flat on us. If we believe Him to be true that His words will come to pass, that may terrify us because we don’t believe Him to be really good or loving. Or maybe we don’t believe Him at all, and His promises sound as empty as the answers to our prayers we used to throw at Him.

If He can’t be for us what we need now, how can we expect Him to come through for future things? I get this line of thinking, I’ve been there myself. Many years of crying out to Him, seemingly with no response. 

I believed that if He was good, it was only to those “other people” – not for me. While resisting Him, I pushed Him away. Since He didn’t answer my prayers in the way and timing that I wanted, I didn’t trust Him.

Years later, I realized all the ways He was protecting and loving me from afar. I thought He left me, but He there all along. 

Truthfully, I still struggle with what He’s doing now. I still have moments when I want to scream at Him asking Him “why?” I don’t understand a lot of what He does and the timing in which He does it. 

What changed for me was my realization of His character. He is patient when I demand Him to answer my prayers in my ways. He’s gracious when I leave Him and come crawling back. He waits for me, even when it hurts Him, while I look for other things to satisfy me.

But He’s always there. He never changes. He is the same today as He was yesterday. 

When we know God to be true to His character, Him accomplishing what He set out to do should be very good news to us. It assures us that no matter how long, difficult and unjust this world can be - He remains the same. 

He’s promised many good things to those who choose to follow Him. Here’s just a few examples:

He will never leave you – “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

He will give you peace – “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast.” (Isaiah 26:3)

He will guide you – “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.” (Psalm 32:8)

He will strengthen you – “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” (Isaiah 40:31)

He will provide for you – “My God will meet all your needs according to His riches.” (Philippians 4:19)

He will return for His people – “I will come back and take you to be with Me.” (John 14:3)

He will forgive you – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us.” (1 John 1:9)

He will make all things new – “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:5)

When we feel He’s too preoccupied or has forgotten about us, these truths remind us that He will do what He’s promised to do. He cannot lie, it’s against His character. 

Maybe, He hasn’t left us afterall. Perhaps, we’ve stopped looking for Him.

How can we learn about His character if we never take the time to discover Him?

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

and do not return there without watering the earth

and making it bear and sprout,

and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;”

(Isaiah 55:10)

Have you ever felt like God is more concerned about pointing out your sin than anything else? This verse gets into the reason behind His interest in our sin. 

We’re back at it in our Isaiah 55 study series. We’ve just covered how the “Heavens are higher than the earth” (vs 9), displaying the magnitude of God's grace He extends toward us. It far surpasses our comprehension of it. But verse 10 digs a little further when it mentions the Heavens again - but this time in reference to how He sustains us.

God cares about our growth. He doesn’t just want us to live obedient lives, but to be thriving. He doesn’t just want us to stop doing things that are sin against Him because He needs our obedience. Repentance shouldn’t just pull us back to where we were before - it should move us towards growth in Him.

In fact, God doesn’t need anything from us at all. Not even our worship, He already has all of creation giving Him praise. He needs nothing to make Him more glorious, good or loving. He’s all those things without us. He doesn’t need us to be God - He just is.

What He gives us is purely for our own benefit. He gets enjoyment out of our enjoyment of Him. And we can't enjoy Him if we’re still enjoying sin.

We can’t grow if we’re resisting repentance. Because we’re holding onto something which can never give us life - only a reflection of it. We’ll always be grasping for more if we choose God’s things over God Himself for fulfillment or meaning. We’ll only find that meaning when we’re able to grow.  

How We Grow

Let’s unpack this verse a little more, because it’s loaded with meaning.

It gives us an analogy of a garden being replenished by rain and snow. Humanity is in the garden, and our completed growth in the garden symbolizes the end of life on earth as we know it. The rain and snow help to soften our hearts in order to grow, which is done through the Bible. 

Deuteronomy 32:2 is among many comparisons in the Bible between rain and God’s Word. It says, “Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, as the droplets on the fresh grass and as the showers on the herb.”

God’s Word gives us growth. We’re given both God’s Word and His Spirit to learn more about Him. The more we know who created us, the more purpose we find in our own lives. If we don’t know the fabric we’re made out of, how can we realize our identity? 

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Snow is different from rain -  in gardening,  its purpose is to preserve the roots during wintertime. During extreme cold weather, snow compacts on vegetation in order to protect it. When Spring arrives, it releases a spring of fresh water. Snow helps preserve God’s word into our lives until the right season for growth. 

I love how incredibly relatable the Bible is. Just as in a garden, our own lives go through seasons of bitter cold we need protection from. God has provided us with a way to be protected so we’re not destroyed,  even when we're frozen in our trials.

But we can’t expect this to happen if we never open up our Bibles. Life will have beautiful days and horrible ones. If we’re constantly caught by surprise by what’s happening around us, our sorrow will only increase. God doesn’t want that for you and me. He wants us to grow and thrive in Him. 

As He’s reminded us in earlier verses, He’s higher than the earth. He’s bigger than anything we might face here on earth. 

He knows you’ll face loss, so He wants to be your comfort. 

He knows you’ll face betrayal, so He wants to be your constant friend.

He knows you’ll face shame, so He wants to show you compassion. 

He knows you’ll face the unknown, so He wants to sit with you through it and remind you who is in control.

He knows and He cares. And He’s worth trusting. 

Do you feel like you’re doing a lot of things but not really growing in your love towards God? He wants more of you. He doesn’t want your actions, He wants your heart. 

What might we be missing from life that can be found in Him?

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:9

Have you ever read verses like that and walked away wondering if God was just trying to rub in our faces how much better He was than us? 

But notice where it’s placed. It follows directly after verse 7c-8a: 

“For He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts.” 

This isn’t coming out of nowhere. It reminds us of how far exceeding His goodness and grace is to us in respect to how we’ve sinned against Him. 

We’re now in verse 9 in our Isaiah study, continuing the thought from last week’s comparison on our thoughts and ways to God’s. 

God pardons our sin far beyond what we could possibly comprehend. Yet, even when we say we believe this, we often live as though we still need to earn His forgiveness. Or as if we’re somehow owed it based on something we did. 

But in reality, it’s not what we do to deserve His grace. When He forgives our insurmountable debt, it’s because of who He is and the purity of His character.

Psalm 103:11 draws another similar parallel:

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.”

This verse isn’t meant to intimidate us into obedience because of the grandeur of Heaven or God’s majesty - though it certainly could. It’s meant to remind us of a love so vast we can only begin to imagine it. And that kind of love demands a response: we can lean into the love or ignore it all together.

We see glimpses of God’s love everyday. Through the beauty of the mountains and seas. Through the waves of lilies across a field. Through the breath in our lungs All of it reflects His life-giving presence. This passage invites us to draw near - to receive more.

What God offers is more than we could ever give. And He's offering it for free. 

What hesitates us from accepting this? Usually, it’s us. 

We either think we don’t need Him because: 

1. We’re self-sufficient. We do well enough on our own. We follow the rules, so we feel we’re entitled to good gifts God offers. But we don’t need all of Him, just enough of Him to make us feel spiritually sufficient. We do things to get things from Him - our relationship is contractional rather than relational. 

2. We’re beyond His grace. We believe we’ve done enough in life to where we won’t ever reach that impossible moral standard we see modeled in our first group. It’s too high and we know that. God must not realize how bad we are, His grace is insufficient. We’ll live this out by succumbing to our morally low standard for ourselves and eventually find ourselves looking for another source of comfort and identity which makes us feel better. 

Either way, we’re believing lies about God’s character - deciding He’s not good enough. Shame consumes us and covers the truth about who God is. But verses like Isaiah 55:9 remind us that it’s got nothing to do with us. It’s all in the character of God which allows us to come freely into His loving grace and choose Him. 

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He knew exactly what He was getting into when He made us. He knew we’d resist Him, pretend He wasn’t there, reject Him, and mock Him. And yet, He’s too good to be affected by anything we could possibly attempt to mess up. 

His ways far outreach ours. Even if we tangle the threads, He weaves all eternity into His pure goodness. 

Think for a moment: what if we stopped spinning our wheels trying to be “good enough”? What if He’s been good enough all along?

The more we explore His goodness, the more we’ll see His strength within us and the less we’ll be overwhelmed by our own shortcomings. 

I don’t think any human on earth enjoys feeling limited.

And yet, this is exactly what Isaiah 55:8 speaks to.  

We’re making our way through Isaiah 55, this week we’re on verse 8. It carries forward the thought from verse 7, where the prophet Isaiah is pleading on behalf to forsake our ways and thoughts and return to the Lord.

Let’s pause and see how our ways and thoughts differ from God’s. It’s common to believe ourselves to be good while peering down our noses on God’s supposed goodness. If we don’t understand it, we immediately distrust Him. 

There’s nothing wrong with trusting something we don’t understand, right? It’s funny, we do this and yet we don’t even fully understand ourselves and yet we are predisposed to trust in our own thoughts. 

We’re all out here just trying to live our best lives, be generally good people and make a difference in our corner of the world. So, why does the Bible and Christianity keep pressing in on our flawed existence? 

Let’s look at who God is and then we can see how it compares to us. When God created the world, He knew what He was doing. He knew His perfectly crafted creations would - once given autonomy - attempt to destroy themselves. Sin entered the world when humans chose beautiful, good things that God created over their Creator. And we can’t even blame Adam and Eve for starting this sin train, because we continue to do the same every day.

He is the source of all life and He’s created lovely things around us to point toward His beauty. And while He created these beautiful things for our enjoyment, He knew they would only give us a taste of life whereas He could offer life itself. 

Since all humanity is made in God’s image, we’re reflections of Him. We have knowledge, but only a reflection of His. We have a finite glimpse into the present, past, and future whereas God has the fully expanded view. He knew every one of us before He even started crafting the world into existence.

This is what is meant when Isaiah 55:8 says, “my thoughts are not yours…” We simply don’t have the capacity within our limited selves. If we don’t come to this conclusion on our own, we’ll keep living like we do in fact know more than Him. We may do outwardly Christianly things, but inwardly we trust our gut more than God. 

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It’s easy to swing to the other extreme and live in such self-loathing that it appears humble and hyper-spiritual. Notice this passage doesn’t focus on the death of our ways but rather the life in His.

Being made in the image of God means we will always have the choice to choose a limitless God in a limited world. And that’s meant to empower us to go out, confident in the world knowing we’ve chosen the source of life instead of mists of temporal pleasures. 

It is impossible to understand our need for God if we think we know more than Him. But this is exactly what makes the Isaiah 55 invitation so beautiful. It’s an invitation which was extended towards us, despite what we have done (verse 7). 

But He gives each of us a choice - we can choose Him or not. 

When we choose to find our identity and satisfaction in people or in the beautiful things God created, we’ve limited ourselves. I wonder what life we could find when we look to Him who knows all things?

Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. - Isaiah 55:7

Today, sin is talked about commonly in two ways: it’s either glorified or used as a tool for spiritual abuse. Neither is Biblical.

So, what are we missing?

We’re continuing our verse-by-verse study of Isaiah 55. Picking up from verse 6, we now reach the second part of what it means to seek or call upon God: leave your sin behind — because God is worth it.

Forsake: What Does it Really Mean? 

First, let’s zoom in on the Hebrew word for forsake: ʿăzab – to turn away from, abandon or leave behind. This doesn’t just mean that we stop something. It means we leave it behind to begin something different. 

But it’s even stronger than that: we turn in a new direction. We aren’t just drifting from sin; we’re deliberately facing another way. We are abandoning it. Forsaking is not glancing over our shoulders — it’s choosing to turn our heads and walk forward without looking back. 

This verse calls us to forsake two things: our ways and our thoughts. 

Why Forsake Our Way?

Forsaking our way means turning away from what we’re naturally drawn towards: sin. We can’t abandon something while still holding onto it. True forsaking means we can’t hold onto our idols while claiming to seek God. We leave our sin in the dust when we turn to Him. 

→ Side bar on “wicked” and “unrighteous”: these aren’t terms reserved for “really bad people.” They refer to anyone who hasn’t received God’s righteousness. That includes all of us, apart from Christ. We are all in need of God. Christians don’t live in our own goodness, we’re covered in His. 

It’s precisely in recognizing our lack of righteousness that leads us to return to God. We won’t come to Him if we think we’re fine without Him. 

This verse doesn’t just ask us to admit we’ve sinned, but it calls us to leave it. C.H. Spurgen puts it like this, “It does not say, ‘Let him own that his way is bad.’ … The wicked may know that their way is sinful—but they must give it up.”

Another translation for “way” is journey. Everyone is on a path – either toward life with Christ or toward death in our sins. God asks us to turn around and walk toward Him. We aren’t able to walk in opposing directions. 

Which means it isn’t just what we’re doing, but what we’re thinking that we have to change. 

Why Forsake Our Thoughts?

Let’s not get this confused — God isn’t asking us not to think. He very much wants us to use our brains. Afterall, He created us with them so that we could use them. 

But our thoughts often become our actions. What we dream of can show us what we ultimately worship. It only makes sense that God would want our thoughts to turn away from sin too. Our view of God impacts how we see the world, ourselves and others. In the following two verses, we’ll tease this out more. 

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God is asking us to forsake our ways and our thoughts, doesn’t that seem controlling of Him? But He won’t ask us to abandon something that is good for us. He wants the very best for us.

When we empty our lives of our idols, He’ll carefully refill us with His presence. Timothy Keller shares the hope in this way, “Repentance becomes the pathway to life, not a burdensome duty.”

God’s Compassion on Us

If you’ve followed along for a while, you know I often quote Isaiah 30:18. It’s worth repeating again here: 

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him. - Isaiah 30:18

He is waiting for us to accept our need for Him, so that like a doting Father He can shower His love on us. Despite our sin-bent selves, He delights in us.

God doesn’t need us to fulfill Him. As a Triune God, He lacks nothing. His goodness and Deity doesn’t change based on our acceptance of Him. He invites us into His love so we can share and delight in Him. 

Sin is Difficult to Leave

Our sin often doesn’t feel bad. If we don’t see the beauty in who God is, He will appear a needy, greedy god who demands us to give up all our toys and freedom. 

But the truth is, sin it steals from us — our peace, independence, joy, and fulfillment. Sin entangles itself as a gnarly thornbush, climbing up the walls of our hearts. It blinds us with short-cuts to joy, which will never satisfy. 

But what if God is offering us more – so much more? Could we let go of what sin is holding us back from and break free towards the person God created us to be?

I wonder what potential God sees in us. I know for a fact it’s far greater than any life we’ve dreamed up on our own.

Will you drop your sin and reach for more with God? 

We’re continuing our verse-by-verse study of Isaiah 55. In verses 1-5, God invites not just Israel but all nations, all who thirst, to come and eat what is good. That is, anyone who is continual emptiness, seeking what only He can truly satisfy. 

Verse 6 marks a shift – a personal appeal from God to Israel, filled with urgency: seek Him now. His covenant promise is extended, but it requires a response. We must move toward Him. 

When the Bible repeats something, it’s never random – it’s intentional. Here in verse 6, God says the same thing two ways: “Seek the Lord” and “call upon Him.” This repetition emphasizes our role in the covenant – we must respond.

It’s impossible to know God if we don't interact with Him, or be close if we never take the time to learn about Him. So, how do we seek Him? 

How Do We Seek the Lord?

The word “seek” (darash in Hebrew) specifically references searching in prayer and worship. This isn’t a prayer tossed in the wind out of frustration –  “where are You, God?” This kind of seeking is joined in prayer. And the truth is, we can’t worship two things at once.

What we worship is what we seek for our satisfaction. When we’re thirsty, spiritually, emotionally or physically, we run to whatever or whoever we worship the most to satisfy our needs. 

How Do We Call Upon God?

The second half of the verse uses another Hebrew word: qara – meaning to summon a person. Here, we’re not just generally reaching; we’re summoning God personally. He is the object of our call.

We get to summon God – and He hears us. That’s not insignificant. In fact, it’s life changing if we let it be.

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It’s not as though we have to summon Him because otherwise He wouldn’t be there. Psalm 145:18 describes God as being near to us, “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.” But notice the words added here — repeated as well — the emphasis to call upon Him in truth. He’s not a god we’ve imagined in our minds – one we can control or manipulate. He is the Truth. We must seek Him as He is, not as we imagine Him to be. We must search for Him in His truth, not ours. 

In prayer and worship, we personally summon God. But we see repeated phrases, “while He may be found” and “while He is near”, implying an urgency to this plea. Our time is limited and one day won’t have the option to call upon Him. 

When Can God Be Found?

It’s unsettling to see the words “while” here. It points to our limitation. Time is not endless. And while we push Him away time and again, He is patient. He gives us more grace than we could imagine, but our opportunity to respond is finite. We have one life to live — and each day, we choose who we will live it for.

There’s urgency in His call to us because He understands our hearts more than we do. He knows that over time, they harden. We’ll grow more comfortable in our lesser joys, losing sight of the greater One. 

Will we live for ourselves? Or call upon Him? Will we seek our own satisfaction? Or find it in Him?

We can call upon Him because He’s first called upon us. He loved us first. He saved us so we could run to Him. 

God can be found — right now. He’s waiting, patiently and lovingly. But the question remains, will you respond?

Behold, you will call a nation you do not know, and a nation which knows you not will run to you, because of the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified you. - Isaiah 55:5

We’re continuing our Isaiah 55 study, and now we’re to verse 5. Up until this point, God’s covenant with David was only between him and his lineage. This verse changes that when God extends His invitation, “you will call a nation you do not know, and a nation which knows you not will run to you.” 

Here’s what He’s saying: My covenant with you will be shared with all nations, not just Israel. He didn’t raise Israel to be His golden child while leaving everyone else cast away. Rather, He raised Israel to be an example of His love.    

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God’s Character Revealed

This extended invitation reminds us of God’s heart, which is ever-overflowing with love. He’s always wanting to give outwardly to others.

Despite the sin that all nations held onto – including Israel – God loves them still. He still chooses to glorify them. Why? Because His love is bigger than our sins. His grace overreaches anything we could do. We can never outrun His love. 

Israel’s Resistance to God’s Extended Invitation

Time and again, Israel failed God and abandoned His ways. Yet, God chooses to raise them up as an example of His love towards all nations. Not because of something they did or their own glory, but simply because “He has glorified [Israel].” 

Wouldn’t Israel be excited about this? Not really. They routinely despised God’s heart to extend His love to others. We see this as early as Jonah, who would rather sit and die than see a heathen city come to repentance.

In contrast, Jesus couldn’t have made it more clear that He loved both the Jews and the Gentiles – that is anyone outside of Jewish descent. He intentionally spent time with and healed those who were considered outsiders. Tax collectors gained their wealth through their corruption of the poor. Gentiles were never associated with the Jews. Prostitutes, the poorest of the poor, women and children – who were culturally considered second-class – were all welcomed by Jesus. The Gospels are full of Jesus breaking the barriers that were once in place. 

That’s the heart of God – but Israel struggled with this. The Jews and Pharisees were threatened by Jesus' openness to all. They hated what He was doing and feared He would disrupt their position in society. 

Like Israel, we may struggle with seeing others around us as God’s creations.

How Do You See Other People?

How often do we think of everyone in the world as being loved by God? In our individualistic society, we get caught up in our own view of Him and stop seeing strangers we pass by as included in that love. God extends this invitation to all – why should we not do the same? 

Jesus gave us the best example of what it means to love other people. What if we saw others through the lens of how God sees them? We’re all given an opportunity to be an extension of His love.

Or, we can choose to see people like the Jews did in Jesus’ day – as pawns and threats to our own glory. When we do this, we lose sight of whose glory we hold, because it’s not our own.

When we stop desperately trying to hold onto our own goodness, we begin to see how we’re not so different from our neighbor. Their sin is no bigger than ours. And as fellow sinners, we can see them as fellow heirs of grace. 

As we learned in Isaiah 55:4, Jesus leads us by example. How might we live out the love of God to our neighbor today?

We’re continuing our Isaiah 55 study, and now we’re to verse 4. The covenant God made with David wasn’t fulfilled through words alone, but was realized through a person – the Messiah, the Servant, Jesus Christ.

Throughout Isaiah, the recurring story of Christ’s invitation for reconciliation to Himself and away from what will ultimately destroy us. That invitation stems from a covenant that began with David – and is now extended to all people through Jesus. 

King David’s Backstory 

Before we dive in, let’s sit with David’s backstory for a minute. Here’s a short synopsis:

• He was the youngest of 8 sons and dubbed ‘least likely to succeed’ (1 Samuel 16:10-11).

• Despite his position, the prophet Samuel anoints David as the next king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:12-13).

• He had more courage than all of Israel when he stepped out in obedience to God and faced Goliath – killing him with just one, small stone (1 Samuel 17:45-50).

• His fame placed a target on his back with the current King Saul and David spent years of his life running away from him (1 Samuel 18-24).

• Throughout betrayal and being in constant danger, David leaned into the Lord closely, pouring his soul into words which were later used in over half of the Psalms (2 Samuel 22; Psalm 3-41).

• He becomes obsessed with power and greed, he commits adultery with Bathsheba, and ensures her husband Uriah’s death once she becomes pregnant with David’s child (2 Samuel 11).

• He’s confronted by the prophet Nathan and repents of his sin (2 Samuel 12:1-13).

• Despite all this, God makes a covenant with Him that He will raise up one of David’s descendants to reign forever and bring salvation to all nations (2 Samuel 7:12-16).

David’s life was full of high highs and low lows. He was selfish, greedy, power-hungry, a rapist, and a murderer, to name a few. And yet, God used Him powerfully. 

We so often believe that it’s our goodness which enables us to earn God’s love or approval. But He uses us despite our weaknesses. He emboldens us when we’re our weakest. We are loved no differently when we walk closely with Him than when we’re running away entrenched in our sin. 

Through King David, God grew up a leader who would come save us. He made a covenant with us embodied through His Son Jesus Christ, who was a “witness…leader and commander.” 

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Christ as Our Witness

Jesus is the living testimony of God’s heart. He says in John 14:9, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” He didn’t just bring the truth – He embodied it. 

Christ bears witness that God is who He says He is. He came down to earth, “born of a woman, born under the Law” (Galatians 4:4) so that we might see “His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

He wasn’t just an example of moral goodness – He was the fulfillment of God’s covenant to us. 

Christ as Our Leader

Peppered all throughout the Bible and themed in Isaiah, God speaks of raising up a Servant to lead the people to Himself. We see this Servant leader perfected in Jesus. 

He doesn’t force Himself on us, rather He gently and humbly leads us to rest (Matthew 11:29). Although He endured every human emotion and weakness, He extended patience and compassion towards those around Him over and over again.

Christ leads us by example, walking before us. He doesn’t ask us to do anything He’s not done Himself. He walked further than we ever could, bearing the weight of the consequences of our sin so that we might never know abandonment from God. 

Christ as Our Commander

The Hebrew word for ‘commander’ here is tsavah, which means to charge or command. Yes, He’s our gentle leader. But He’s also our mighty warrior. He’s not a weak leader who’s easily overcome, He has ultimate authority. He demonstrates some of that through His many miracles on earth. 

Through His covenant to us, God promises a renewed and everlasting kingdom. God will one day have the final say over all the evil that seems to prevail today. He will make all things right. 

How Should We Respond?

Despite who we are or what we’ve done, God can redeem our story and weave us into His much larger redemption of the world. He’s already set motion to His plan to reconcile the world back to Himself through His Son Jesus. 

God not only loved us enough to allow His Son Jesus to be collateral damage for our rescue. He’s demonstrated through Him the unconditional love God has for us. He gently leads us to Himself while holding the ultimate authority over all things.

No matter what mankind does, God’s plans won’t change or be less good. And He allows us to be a part of that plan, if we’re willing to choose Him over our sin.

Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David. - Isaiah 55:3

Have you ever been in a crowded room and someone was talking to you, but you didn’t hear them? Maybe you’re within earshot, but didn’t hear them because you were engaged in another conversation.

This is what God alludes to when He tells us to “incline your ear”. He’s already said this in verse 2, “Listen carefully to Me.” We know that this repetition isn’t by accident, but rather highlights the significance of what He’s saying.

Isaiah 55 study continues, we’re onto verse 3 where God concludes His invitation with one final plea to come and listen. 

Attention: Are You Listening?

We give the most attention where we’re directing our eyes. It’s why we feel more present when we make eye-contact when speaking with someone. It helps direct our focus –  literally – to that very moment. We hear the person in front of us clearer since our attention is on them. It’s no different with God. We’re in a crowded room, with lots of people and shiny objects around us — begging for our attention.

Sure, we can multitask, but even moms would say they don’t have their full focus on each task at hand. We can’t give each one 100%. 

We’re constantly multitasking with God. But no matter how we spread our attention, our identity remains in Him. Think of it this way, suppose I tell my husband that I’m only partly his wife. That would be outrageous – I’m either his wife or not. There’s no halfway commitment. 

But, we can live half-way committed to God. We see it in marriages, relationships and certainly with our relationship with God. More often than not, we’re the wayward spouse in this marriage-commitment. But if we’re Christians, the reality of our commitment doesn’t change based on how seriously we take it. What we get out of that commitment depends on what we do within it. 

If we’re a Christian, the degree to which we invest in our relationship with God will be the degree to which we find enjoyment of life. The more beautiful He becomes to us, the more beautiful the world and those in it will be. As we know Him, we become more like Him. The more we’re like our Creator, the more we’ll see the world through His lens. As we get to know Him, everything expands within us. The closer we walk towards a magical kingdom, the more grand it appears to us. 

The further we walk from it, the smaller it becomes. Not that the kingdom shrinks, but our view of it does.

If we’re not a Christian, our identity is found elsewhere. Whomever we give our attention to, that's who we’ll be. Maybe our identity is found in how good of a person we are, or our career or family. As they change, so do we. Life is a sum of little moments we give our allegiance to. Whatever loves we choose to be our hope, will define our life. It will define who we are and how we’ll see the world. 

Will we find life with God or continue choosing things that will steal from our life? 

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God’s Covenantal Love

Not only life, but life to the fullest. Life with an “everlasting covenant.” God mentions His initial covenant that He made with David (2 Samuel 7:12-16). God promised David that through his lineage, He would establish His kingdom. He fulfills His promise through His Son Jesus, who came from David’s bloodline. And now, we’re invited into this covenant. 

David writes in the Psalms a few of these promises that now include us:

• Lovingkindness forever and established faithfulness (Psalm 89:2)

• Everlasting kingdom (Psalm 89:29)

• Protection from death and hell (Psalm 16:10)

• Peace and happiness (Psalm 132:15-18)

God keeps His promises, even though Israel abandoned the covenant many times. God never did. We don’t see the finished work of His promises, but we get to be a part of it. David didn’t get to see this covenant come to pass, and neither did his children or grandchildren. But he played a beautifully important role. Thank God He’s woven together each story and every creation to fulfill His plans. Our lives are important to Him, and He chooses to put us in His redemption story.

He chose to include you. He asks, “Will you listen to Me?”

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 delight yourself in abundance. - Isaiah 55:2

What makes us choose other things over God?

We’re continuing our verse-by-verse study of Isaiah 55. Verse 2 continues God’s invitation to us, but shifts the focus on comparing what He offers versus what our other loves offer us. 

Two Offers

God offers us hope and life abundantly. We’ve just learned in the previous verse that God is inviting us to come and buy milk, wine and bread without any cost to us. There is a price, but He’s already covered the bill. Taking it out of the analogy, food refers to fulfillment.

Meaning, He will satisfy our souls with our every need. He doesn’t just give us the bare bones of what will keep us alive. He offers us pleasures and goodness in abundance. He promises every good thing. He elaborates on this later on in the verse by inviting us to “delight ourselves in abundance.”

Our loves offer us hope, too. But what kind? We see verse two describes their offer as what “does not satisfy.” This statement reveals the deception in our false loves’ promises. Although they offer what appears like nourishing food, it turns to ash in our mouths. Never satisfying, yet only increasing our appetite. Not only that, we are dropped with the weight of a costly bill at the end of the meal. 

It’s not always so clearly black and white like this. Many times, the feast looks like an out-of-reach sampling and the ash like a mouth-drooling chocolate cake.

The beauty of God’s gift won’t wane based on our perception of it, but our idols can obstruct the view. In order to see that God is better, we must see that our idols will never satisfy us. When we accept their offer, we must understand what payment is required of us and what we’ll receive in return. 

What are we giving?

The invitation from our idols comes at a cost. When we chase our own fulfillment apart from God we have to work for it. We are bound by the standards we set for ourselves or we assign ourselves from others. 

Our fulfillment is dependent on our performance. Every aspect of our lives — our identity, happiness, security, sense of belonging – will facilitate as we follow the rules to our standards.

What are we getting? 

Our idols may give us a whisper of fulfillment, but it always has an expiration date. It won’t fully satisfy us. In fact, it will only make us grow more discontent because we don’t have the real thing. It’s merely a shadow of the real thing.

God gives us many wonderful things to enjoy life. He is the source of joy, and as His creations they point to that joy. Glimmers of sunlight reflected on the waves wouldn’t give off heat if not for the sun beaming overhead. Similarly, without God’s love, we wouldn’t receive any enjoyment. As soon as we look at those things to give us full satisfaction, we’ll be continually disappointed.

We may get temporary blips of happiness or contentment — but it will only be a reflection of what could be found in the fullness of knowing Him. 

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Accepting God's offer means that no matter how many times we’ve failed or will fail, God’s love for us won’t diminish. When we choose Him, we get life to the fullest. Despite what happens in life, our core truth will never change: we’re safe in Him.

He sees the ultimate good in our lives and gives us just that  — even if it challenges us. But through difficulties, the unknown and even grief, He’s not going anywhere.

Unlike our loves, He never changes. His love isn’t dependent on our performance. His grace never runs out no matter how many times we fall. 

Carefully listen

We’re given two offers, which one will we listen and respond to? God knows that our other loves offer a tempting choice, which is why He pleads with us to “listen carefully.” He knows the joys they provide us are real and feel good, but understands their temperance. He knows it will ultimately leave us empty and more needy than before. He knows it will cost us our identity and peace of mind. We’re desperate to feel, and He’s desperate to show us how much, much more He has to offer us. 

What hope can our loves offer us that can’t be found in the One who created them? 

We’re tired. We’re starving. We’re aching. He will give us what we need. Come, taste and see that He is good (Psalm 34:8). 

Either path we choose, we’re listening to someone. Will we lean into the Christ calling us or answer the cries of our idols? 

Is God silent in our quest for meaning and fulfillment? Didn’t He create us this way? 

We’ll get to that and more. But first, let’s see how Isaiah 55 opens.

In preceding chapters, we learn of Israel’s continued rebellion against God. But in verse 1 He starts with an invitation from God spoken through His prophet Isaiah. 

Time after time, God reveals how He will be faithful despite Israel’s disobedience. He was using Israel to be His mouthpiece to reconcile the world to Himself.

And eventually bring in the new kingdom: a world rid of worries and injustice — a world in perfect peace and harmony.

Despite how God provided for His people, they continued to abandon His will. Instead of reconciling the nations to God, Israel would align with them and take on their idol-worship. God’s will does not hinge on human contribution.

His promise remained: He would raise up a Servant to accomplish His plans. Though Israel abandoned God, He would never abandon them. 

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Our Situation

Israel represents all humanity. We’ve all found ourselves in the same rebellion as Israel. God’s promise remains the same to us: He will never abandon us although we turn our faces from Him. We’ve collectively entangled ourselves in a thicket of thorns when we choose our other loves – or idols – above Him in our lives. 

While our idols promise to bring us fulfillment, they only wrap tightly around us, obscuring our view of God. These false loves serenade us with tales of happiness, a sense of belonging and identity. Lulled by their stories, we don’t see the thorns hooking into our bodies. Suddenly, they control our every move. Their hollow assurances shatter like glass in our hands. Our desires are increasing as our famished bodies grope for anything to satisfy us. We’re more hungry than before. Our cravings are unsatiated. The aches in our soul scream louder now. We can’t seem to hush their cries. Maybe just a small amount of happiness will soothe the endless noise in our soul?

Didn’t He create us this way? Although He may sometimes be silent, He’s ever present. He calls for us to turn our gaze and see Him. He eagerly waits for us to run to Him for help, longing to gently pull off each nettle away from us. He sees the tears in our eyes, He hears our sobs at night.

Although we scream and spit in His face, mocking Him and hurling insults at Him — He waits. He keeps calling: come, all who thirst. 

Will we answer His call and let Him help us? Carefully, gently He’ll pull each vine off our skin. It hurts. The thorns are hooked in our skin, pulling and tearing at our skin. 

Bloody, dirty, tired, hungry, tired – we approach Him. 

Reluctantly, we turn to Him because we’ve come to the end of ourselves. We’ve exhausted all our resources. He isn’t our first love, He’s our last resort. And how does He respond? 

God is not petty. He doesn’t wag His finger in our face, mocking our sleepy return to Him. He doesn’t say, “I told you so” while leaving us in the dust of our own consequences.

God is not pushy. He’s steady, His invitation doesn’t waver. He doesn’t get up in our face, screaming for attention. He waits patiently by our side. 

God is not naive. He keeps extending grace to us knowing full well that we will keep failing and falling away from Him. 

No, He’s ready to give of Himself. He’s a good Father. He’s patient with our fickle hearts. He’s ready to forgive. He’s ready to invite us to the table to dine with Him freely. He knows we have no money, He understands our dire situation. He doesn’t love us less because of it, He loves us all the more. 

The Price

God’s invitation is free to us but it doesn’t come at no cost to Him. Notice He uses the word “buy” alongside “without cost.” In previous chapters, Isaiah prophesies the new Servant who will come to redeem His people. Our judgement price was paid through Jesus’ sacrifice. 

God knows we don’t come to His table through our own hard-earned money. We come to His table weary and empty-handed. We have nothing to offer but our thirst. And yet, that is all He asks of us.

Come Thirsty

This invitation is to all who are thirsty. The thirst here is figurative for our need and longing. He will give us what we need and then some. Wine, milk and bread are all symbolic of a rich, vibrant life. He doesn’t promise to satisfy our materialistic hopes and dreams here, but rather satisfy the longing inside the depths of our souls. 

We all search for belonging — to be known, secure and loved. 

The Invitation 

“Come to the waters.” Notice what we don’t do: anything other than taking our needs to Him.

He asks us to come, needy. 

That means, we don’t drop our needs and come to Him in our perceived perfection and wholeness. It also means we don’t sit stagnant in our neediness. He’s asking us to get up and come to Him, with our baggage, with our doubts, with our scars, with our sorrows.

Just come.

Maybe we come to Him as our first choice, or 3rd or 19th or last resort. Either way, we come to Him. He sent His Son to take our shame and guilt away — now, all we need to do is step forward and bring our needs to Him. We crawl to Him, exhausted,  in our dirty, thorn-torn clothes. He graciously awaits us on the other side, waiting to give us what we need.

Will we come forward? Will we answer His invitation? 

The book of Isaiah follows the prophet Isaiah as he describes both judgement and hope to be found despite Israel’s continual rebellion. Though this prophetic book speaks directly to Israel’s history and future, its message extends far beyond one nation. The book reads a prophetic message of one nation for all nations, from the beginning to the end of time.

God raised up Israel as a holy nation — His servant — to represent Him to all creation. Yet throughout this book, we see them not only abandoning this calling, but also turning their trust other nations, kings, and idols.  

The book is divided into sections: 

Chapters 1-12: Isaiah warns Israel of the judgement to come. Their rebellion has consequences, and powerful empires Assyria and Babylon will be God’s instruments of discipline. 

Chapters 13-27: Israel isn’t alone in facing judgement. Assyria’s reign will be overpowered by Babylon. The surrounding nations are just as corrupt and will face their own destruction. God remains sovereign over all nations, despite their refusal to depend on Him.

Chapters 28-39: Isaiah prophecies the rise and fall of Jerusalem under King Hezekiah. He foolishly aligns politically with Egypt for protection. Though he later repents and is spared immediate judgement, he ultimately makes an alliance with Babylon. 100 years later, this alliance will be the downfall of Israel and their eventual exile. 

Chapters 40-48: The tone shifts to one of comfort and redemption. Isaiah speaks prophetically 200 years into Israel’s future, when they will be rescued from exile and brought home. God will have mercy on them and will use King Cyrus of Persia to save them. 

Chapters 49-55: God will keep His promise of redemption — and if not through the original servant (Israel), then through a new one. This Servant, whom we now know as Jesus, will:

1) restore Israel back to God and

2) become a light to the nations

Isaiah foretells of the suffering the Servant will endure for the sake of a people who will reject Him. And yet through Him, God will bring redemption to the world. 

Chapters 56-66: This Servant will usher in a New Kingdom. Those who follow Him in humility and repentance will inherit the New Jerusalem and become part of the new creation.

Isaiah carries both judgement and hope — often side by side. Woven throughout every section is a call to return to the Lord. Instead of trusting in idols or alliances, God urges His people to trust in Him. He knows that their false hopes will bring them more suffering and will never help them. As Ray Ortlund writes in his commentary on Isaiah, “The most heart-breaking story in the universe is how much our Father loves his children, compared with how little they love and obey him.”

Even though Israel had seen God’s deliverance time and again, they continually looked elsewhere for their security. Their hearts grew dull and distant (Isaiah 1:3-4).

And yet, as Israel continually ran away from God, His love only deepened. Their rebellion didn’t deter the promises He made to them. Not even the wickedness of kings could interrupt His plan. God used both the wise and foolish to fulfill His purposes. Despite the mistakes and sin from humanity, God continually works it out for His ultimate good. And for ours, if we let Him. 

Let’s step inside Israel’s shoes for a moment. Their perspective is often shoved aside and chalked up to, “Typical Israel — always doubting God, ignoring all the good things He’s done for them.” But Israel reflects our own hearts. As much as we may not like to admit it, they’re more relatable than we think. We can see the redemption God wove through their suffering. We see how Christ delivers them and fulfills God’s ultimate promise. But they lived in the middle of it. All they saw was another day of waiting. Another day of suffering. 

They waited 400 years for deliverance from their oppressors in Egypt.

They waited 40 years to enter the Promised Land.

They waited 500 years through the rise and fall of kings, longing for the promised King.

They waited 70 years in exile before being brought home.

They waited centuries for the Messiah Isaiah promised.

They didn’t see the vantage point we do. They couldn’t see how God had been saving them — even from themselves. They couldn’t see how their alliances with Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon would only lead them to their own destruction. Their view of God blurred as they wandered from Him. They blamed Him for their suffering, unaware that He was protecting them from the destruction their choices would bring. 

As Israel, how often do we forget what God has done for us? How quickly we run to other things to give us comfort, whether it is people, food, entertainment. We reach for things that can never save us for our security — our own identity, our career, our family. We choose things that can never save us or give us what we really want. 

God chose us — and we continue to choose everything else. But that doesn’t stop Him from pursuing us. God doesn’t leave us in our rebellion of Him. Isaiah 30:18 captures His heart:

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him.

He’s waiting to be gracious to us.

And so, God sent His Son to do what Israel could not do — to be the true Servant of all. To redeem the world, bring justice, and fulfill the promise of hope for every generation. 

Isaiah 55 is God’s final invitation in this section of the book. He pleads with us to choose Him over what will never satisfy. Our idols — the things we look to instead of God — will always fail us. Israel kept trusting kings and idols to save them, while their true King was already in control. 

How long will we keep waiting for our idols to give us what only God can? 

Will we see the comfort He offers us in this very moment? 

We’ll wait for next week to begin our walk — starting with verse 1 of Isaiah 55.