Day 19: Young Adults

God is calling!

 “Come. Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…”  (Isaiah 55:1 ESV).

The call to “come” in Isaiah happened 45 years after the Babylonians took the Israelites into exile.  At the outset, it seems clear that this verse is describing the importance of coming into a relationship with God as primary over the physical needs and nourishment of a person.  However, the physical/material and spiritual dimensions of the Jewish life were never separated; rather, the physical and spiritual dimensions served as a mutual support to the wellness of the whole person.

Once the captured Israelites went from their homeland, the political and spiritual dimensions of life altered. This meant a change in the Israelites geographic location as well as a relational transition with God. This verse in Isaiah is addressing identity.

God was assuring His people that, not in spite of, but in relationship to their current context, they belonged to God still. In a world that is marked by brokenness: political, religious, racial, and economic, to name a few, God is inviting us to enter into and receive God’s Spirit in a way that renders us being capable of living life as God’s people and being “reconcilers” to a world that is lost and in suffering. Our ability to “come” and “be ‘reconcilers’” is in the assurance of our identity as belonging and as loved by God. For those of us who are thirsty for the healing and restoration of our families and communities, Isaiah bids us all to come and drink from the waters of God and engage with our world.

Prayer:

“Heavenly Father, thank you for the precious invitation for us all to come to you.  Jesus, you continually show us that what we say is impossible you say is possible. Holy Spirit, as we receive and respond to this invitation we patiently wait as you guide us into truth.  So, we receive this invitation to come and drink from your waters God and partner with you in the redemption and renewal of our families, communities, and the world.” Amen.