Daily Devotions
Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Isaiah 55:1
Isaiah describes the plight of a rebellious Israel with wilderness imagery. Because of her sin she wandered in a trackless wasteland with no water to drink. Her captivity in Babylon far from Jerusalem would be a spiritual wilderness. Now God issues the beautiful invitation of our text to a hopeless, despairing people. God’s overflowing love is freely poured out for sinners. Refreshing water to drink. Food and drink for sustenance. Spiritual refreshment that lasts forever. All without cost!
In the wilderness of our existence, God also issues an invitation to us. “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters …” Having squandered our money on food that doesn’t satisfy (Isaiah 55:2), having rebelled against God, we now come to Jesus Christ for refreshment. He has paid the full price for our sins and offers us spiritual food and drink without cost. The living water of His Word refreshes our parched throats. The solid food of His love and forgiveness nourishes us for daily living. Now we can sound the summons for others to come and drink at the waters and to eat the food freely offered. Come for refreshment!
PRAYER: I come to You, Lord Jesus, for the spiritual refreshment which You so freely give so that I may live with You forever. Amen.
(Devotions from “My Daily Devotion” by Dr. Stephen J. Carter, copyright 1988 CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For ordering information, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit www.cph.org.)