Isaiah 55

Have you ever had one of those unsuspecting moments when you know you have just stumbled upon the very breath of God coming off of the pages of Scripture like a mighty wind and blasting you in the face?  You just can’t miss it at that point.  It’s not an “Oh I think I just felt a slight breeze” moment.  It’s that gust that blows your hair in all directions, causes you to hold onto your purse so it doesn’t fly away, and makes you brace yourself so you don’t fall over.  The LORD is speaking!

Well I had that happen to me this week and it all started with me seeing the numbers 555.  For a couple days I literally saw 555 everywhere - phone numbers, receipts, license plates, gas stations, etc...  So it became apparent to me that Jesus was trying to get my attention.  I looked up the only 2 scriptures that have the reference 555.  Psalm 55:5 was definitely NOT what He was speaking.  (You can look it up or take my word for it... :) )  And the only other one was Isaiah 55:5.  “Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you.”  In my mind I was thinking, That’s awesome Jesus.  I know I’m called to nations so, I mean, that’s a nice verse, but I don’t understand why you would highlight this scripture to me.  Then He had me read the context of that verse.  (Always read context!)

Isaiah 55 begins with a call - COME!  Everyone who is thirsty, COME to the waters.  Even if you don’t have money, COME buy and eat.  COME enjoy the abundance of heaven!  Basically, God is addressing the concerns and needs that get in the way of us coming and entering into His fullness.  He is saying - It doesn’t matter if you are in need.  It doesn’t matter if you are in lack.  It doesn’t matter if you have nothing to offer.  Come anyway.  I will take care of all your needs and satisfy you with the goodness of My presence.

This hit the nail on the head.  Ever since moving here to Harrisburg I have been declaring my undying devotion to God.  - God I trust You!  I trust You to be my provider.  I trust You to fulfill all Your promises.  I trust  You to lead me into the fullness of what You have for me.  But doubt slowly crept in and tried to trip me up at the doorway to His presence..  Will God really take care of me?  Is He truly faithful to His promises?  How is everything going to work out.  Am I really hearing His voice?  But in vs. 1-2, He says that I don’t have to worry.  He’s totally got me covered.  Just COME in and lay those concerns at the doorstep.

Vs. 3-4 then go on to talk about a covenant - a promise made of the Lord, an extravagant inheritance that will be a testimony to the whole world of how truly good God is.  The details of this promise are laid out in vs. 5-7...

• Nations shall run to you
• You shall be glorified
• The wicked will give up his ways
• The unrighteous man will give up his way of thinking
• They will both turn back to God
• God will be extravagant in His forgiveness and restoration of those who turn to Him

To sum it up, there will be a world-wide harvest and God wants it to come through us!

The LORD immediately spoke to me.  Ellie, you are praying the wrong prayers.  You are stuck thinking about your immediate needs and concerns.  I already told you that I completely have you covered.  You don’t have to worry about that at all.  Instead, you need to expand your thinking.  You need to be asking Me for the nations as your inheritance!

As I looked at the next verse I knew this was clearly God speaking to me.  Vs. 8-9 say that His thoughts are so much greater than our thoughts and His ways are so much higher than our ways.  So much conviction hit me in that moment.  I had given into “little thinking.”  I was missing out on His standard of living because I was focusing on all the wrong things.

How often do we allow all the insignificant worries of life come into our homes and exalt themselves to positions of rulership?  We hand over the keys to our house and say, “I am now giving you the say on how things are run around here.”  But then when we stand before the face of God and gaze upon His greatness, we are jolted back into an awareness of how truly insignificant all those concerns are.  Therein lies the revelation that the more we stare at the face of God, the less we will be tripped up by “little thinking.”  So that’s my cry.  God keep me in that place of awareness of Your greatness!  Don’t let me relinquish my role as a daughter or my inheritance through Your covenant with me.  I will keep coming in, no matter what may be the reality of my situation.  I will make You my reality!

There is so much more revelation in Isaiah 55 that I could go on and on about, but the essence of what He revealed to me was actually in Isaiah 55:5.  Nations.  He’s reminding me why He brought me to Harrisburg.  He wants to give me a greater understanding of His heart for the nations of the world.  I may not be overseas or doing the "normal" missionary thing, but He wants to use me and teach me how to contend for the nations, to contend for a world-wide harvest while I am here in my own nation.  That is my vision in giving myself to spending my time in a house of prayer environment.  I may not see how it all works out quite yet, but He is reshaping the way I think and the way I pray.  Yay God!

Isaiah 55

1“Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
2Why 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 let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The sure mercies of David.
4Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people,
A leader and commander for the people.
5Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the Lord your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you.”
6Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
7Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
11So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
12“For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap theirhands.
13Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the Lord for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”