Isaiah 55:1-3 "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. (2) Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. (3) Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David."
The Word of God is truly amazing! Though these words were written some 2700
years ago, they are just as pertinent today as then. God inspired the
Prophet Isaiah to write words that are intended to cause each one of us to take
inventory of where we are in our lives. Remember when God asked Adam,
"Where art thou?" God was not asking this question in order to find
Adam; rather, the intention of the question was to cause Adam to stop and take
inventory. Where are you? Why are you there? How did you get there? Of course
Adam's answer was: "I'm hiding in the bushes because I'm afraid. I'm
afraid because I transgressed your law." But then, he went on to try to
blame Eve for the transgression. I remind us of this because the ultimate
depth of today's verses are intended to cause us to look around to see where we
are. What has it cost us to be where we are? What do we have as the
result of our actions? We spend that which is of great price in order to
get something that is worthless. I am remembering a child at the fair who
spends quarter after quarter to win some cheap plastic toy that doesn't even
last long enough to get it home. God is asking us today, "Why are
you spending good money for something that is useless?" Why are you
spending so much time on worldly things that do not add one bit of importance
to your life?
What is God's answer? Look at verse 3, "... come unto me... " Verse 1
tells us that we do not need money to buy that which is of the utmost importance.
In fact, you can't buy it with money, but it is the only thing that will
satisfy your hungry soul. Coca-Cola is advertised as the real thing, but
in reality it only makes you more thirsty. Water is indeed the real thing and
the only thing that will satisfy the natural thirst. The Living Water of
Jesus Christ is the only real thing that will satisfy a thirsty soul. He
stands with open arms, saying, "Come unto me all ye that labour and are
heavy laden and I WILL give you rest." What does it cost? It requires
that we lay aside our pride and humble ourselves to say, "Lord, I need
you." In that time of humility, Christ gives that peace and joy that
is only found in Him. How long will God's people try to find satisfaction
in the things of the world that try to imitate peace? It's found only in
Jesus.