School is back in session, so we’re sharing a new devotional for those who feel far away from God. We encourage you to send it to students or anyone who could use some comfort in Christ. Subscribe to our Substack to get it in daily installments delivered directly through email this week. View it in full at SOLA.NETWORK.
The first way the Word comforts is with an invitation to come to God:
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. (Isaiah 55:1-2)
The first and dominant word in this verse is come. You can’t miss it. It is a call to go, to walk towards, and to get near to God.
Notice who is called to come: everyone who thirsts. Jesus made the same invitation in John 7:37 when he said: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” He wasn’t talking about physical thirst, but spiritual thirst. The Bible uses the word thirst to describe a spiritual longing for satisfaction and for the Lord. So when you thirst, you’re saying that you need.
There also is a sense of urgency in the invitation. Your soul is starving and thirsting in the desert. You are going to die, and God is offering you free food and water, and only He can satisfy our souls as he is where true life is found.
The words in Isaiah was originally meant for the Israelite exiles, but the invitation extends to anyone who feels far away from God: Come to him and live. Our passage tells you to listen, come to God, and hear so that your thirsty, starving soul may live.
And this is what God says: He has made an everlasting covenant by his steadfast and sure love for David the King. This covenant blessing continues and culminates with Jesus, a witness to God’s promise and a leader and commander of God’s people. He calls and invites the nations to come to him and partake in the glory of God and his people. When you truly listen to God, you’re going to hear him talk about Jesus.
Come and Listen
So, will you come and listen and live? The text ties listening with living so much it’s as if to say “if you will listen, then you will eat and live” or “listen in order to eat and live.”
The Bible tells us a story about two sisters, Mary and Martha. They invited Jesus into their home. Mary sat with Jesus while Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. Imagine inviting Jesus into the heart of your home and just leaving him there without listening to him at all.
We distract ourselves with our phones. With our friends. Even when we put school over our spiritual lives, we distract ourselves from what really matters.
In this coming school year, make it a priority to come and listen to God. When you eliminate distractions, you’ll be efficient with your studying and homework. You’ll have time to read your Bible and pray, and you can come to church and fellowship. God invites you to come to him in the midst of a hostile world (ESV Expository Commentary).
In John 4:13-14, Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well: “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Stop searching and come to God for your ultimate satisfaction. Don’t get distracted. Listen to him.
The first glorious way the Word comforts is with an invitation. The Word invites you to come. Come and listen so that you may live.
Action item: Track your time to see where it goes. Are there any areas where you are easily distracted and wasting time? Schedule time to spend with the Lord in Bible reading and prayer.
Author’s Note: These devotions were originally preached as a single sermon at FCBC Walnut. You can watch the sermon video and download it as a free PDF Pamphlet. I separated it into smaller pieces for more focused meditation and reflection. I also included reflection questions and action items specifically for this devotion.