Tuesday, September 15, 2026

“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while 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 compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:6-9)

What a gift this promise is! God calls us urgently to return to Him, no matter what we have done or how we are living—and why? So “that He may have compassion on [us], … for He will abundantly pardon.”

When we feel guilty and ashamed, this is not the way we naturally think of God. Instead we imagine a God we have to hide from—a God who will certainly punish us harshly if He ever catches up with us. And so we run from Him. We hide, like Adam and Eve in the garden after they disobeyed God (see Genesis 3:8). We ignore the voice we can hear calling our names—the knock at the door of our hearts—the voice of Jesus, saying, “Child, let Me in.” We are afraid.

But the Holy Spirit speaks in this passage to tell us we don’t have to be afraid. God is looking for us, but not to punish us. He wants to forgive us, to have compassion on us—to bring us home. That’s why God became a human being at that first Christmas long ago, when Jesus was born into our world. That’s why Jesus lived among us, caring for everyone who needed help, no matter what their lives were like. That’s why He laid down His own life on the cross, so that everyone who believes in Him will be forgiven and washed and made new in the eyes of God.

And now that Jesus has risen from the dead, we never have to be afraid again. He will take us by the hand and bring us into the presence of God the Father, saying, “This is the one I love, the one I died for.” And we will be God’s own children, with the Holy Spirit living in us and through us.

So God urges us: “Come home now! Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” It makes no sense to say, “I will repent tomorrow; I have years ahead of me when I can change my ways.” Nobody can guarantee that. But Jesus guarantees that, if we trust in Him now, we will have forgiveness and peace and life and joy—because God loves us, and He wants us home.

WE PRAY: Dear Lord, when I am afraid of You, help me! Bring me to trust You. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Reflection Questions:

1. Why are people naturally afraid of God?
2. How can we be sure God cares about us and wants us home?
3. Pray for someone you know who is running away from God right now.

Today's Readings:

Isaiah 11-13
Ephesians 2

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