Stop wasting your time and money

“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. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.” (Isaiah 55:1-3)

What are you pursuing? What do you instinctively look to in order to fill you up or give you life, or to escape from the pain?

And is it working? Is it filling you up? Giving you life? Removing the pain?

In Isaiah 55:1-3, God speaks through the prophet Isaiah to his people, and he asks them why they are spending their time, energy, and money on things which can not satisfy them. He goes on to invite them to come to him, to experience His covenantal love, to find true life for their souls.

I have found that one of the greatest benefits of having a daily time set aside to meet with God is the reminder I receive of what God is communicating in Isaiah 55:1-3. All day long I have been neglecting God, chasing after the things of this world, trying to find meaning and satisfaction in work, the approval of others, food, material things, comfort, entertainment, and so on. But when I stop and come before the Lord, I am reminded that those things never satisfy. I remember that nothing compares to knowing God, trusting in His love for me, and doing His will. As Jesus said to his disciples in John 4:32-34, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about… My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

I encourage you to commit God’s question, and his invitation, in Isaiah 55:1-3 to heart. When you find yourself looking for meaning, life, or escape in the things of this world, hear the Lord asking you, “Why spend your money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?” Hear also the Lord’s invitation to you: “Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.”

Lay down your unsatisfying pursuits, and come to the Lord. Trust in His love, and commit your ways to Him, that your soul may truly live.