Listen here.
Welcome to Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the
appointed Scripture readings for the upcoming Sunday. Thank you for being with
me today.
I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in
Hudson, OH.
This coming Sunday is the 16 Sunday after Pentecost. Yesterday
we read the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, in which we found those
who had worked for the whole day confused and even upset when they discovered
that those who worked for merely an hour had received the same wage. Today we
hear God himself say, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways
my ways.” As we deal with God we find that he is compassionate, merciful, and
ready to pardon sinners who come to him.
The Reading: Isaiah 55:6-9 – I will be reading from the
English Standard Version translation.
6 "Seek the LORD while he may
be found; call upon him while he is near;
7 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.
8 For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares 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.
(Isa. 55:6-9 ESV)
Comments
As we think about this passage we should ask how we are to
seek the Lord. Many seek God in nature, in mystical experiences, through
self-discipline, in self-actualization, and through other means. The secret to
seeking the Lord is found a few verses prior to our reading, in Isaiah 55:3
when God says, “Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may
live.” God is not far off. He has come near; that is part of the wonder of this
passage. In response to God coming near to his people the appropriate response
for us is to seek him – that is to find him where he promises to be, in the
Word, and now in the Sacrament so that he might do his will in our lives. The
seeking is not meant for sterile knowledge, but to receive the salvation that
God came to give us in Christ.
This highlights the truth that God’s thoughts and ways are
not human thoughts or ways. From a human standpoint, seeking God puts the onus
on us to do what is necessary to find him. The Scriptures are clear, however,
that God in Christ seeks us out, finds us, and then invites us to find him
where he promises to be – that is to realize that he is indeed with us always,
that he never leaves us or forsakes us, that his Spirit dwells in the Word to
create and sustain our faith, and that he continues to dwell among his people
as we gather in Jesus’ name.
God seeks us out so that we might seek and find him.
It is also important to notice that the way God deals with
us differs from how people deal with one another. God calls the wicked to
forsake his way. Much of what God calls wicked we now think is normal, and even
good. God would have us turn away from our sinful desires. Today we acknowledge
the desire and deny the sinfulness of it. But it is not just deeds that God
would have us change. He would change our thoughts, thinking, not as the world
does, but as he himself does. God is, indeed, swift to forgive. He loves to be
compassionate and to pardon sinners. All too often, however, it seems that we
want to set aside the admonition to forsake wicked ways and unrighteous
thoughts. Do we think we should continue in sin when God comes near to us?
Shouldn’t we seek to be more and more like him since he has come to redeem us?
The clearest way that we see that God’s ways are not our
ways and his thoughts not our thoughts is in looking at the cross. As we look
there we see Jesus bearing our sin – an utterly unfair and seemingly unjust
event. Which of us would give a child to save those who rebel against us? Which
of us would sacrifice ourselves to save people who have turned against us? Yet
God does that very thing. He gives his son to die. Jesus comes and willingly
suffers and, strangely, wondrously, fearfully, and amazingly, in his brokenness
and Jesus gives his last shuttering breath he wins the victory for us.
God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are not our
ways. Death becomes victory, which leads to resurrection and a new life that
forsakes wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts because we too have died in
Christ and live a new life even now.
Prayers
O God, your ways are not our ways and your thoughts are not
our thoughts. Yours ways and thoughts are higher, better, and surpassingly
superior to ours. We would cling to unrighteous thoughts and we would walk in
wicked ways, but you have come near to us so that we might find you as you call
us in your Word. Forgive us, Lord, change our hearts and minds, our thoughts and
our actions. Move us to seek you and to live each day in your promises and in
your presence, trusting you to lead us through this life transforming us to
walk in your ways for Jesus’ sake.
Lord, we also lift before you those who are bearing the
brunt of Hurricane Maria right now. Please protect them and their property. And
please be with the people of Mexico City who have truly had their world shaken.
Help them to know that you are with them and please give success to those who
seek survivors in the rubble.
As we look at all that is going on in our world, there is an
old prayer that seems very appropriate right now, so we pray: Lord, have mercy.
Amen.
Thank you so much for using Devotions for Worship, I pray
that our time together has blessed you and given you something to meditate on –
some reminder of God’s grace to rattle around in your brain – for the rest of
the day. I hope you’ll come back tomorrow when we take time to meditate on
Psalm 32:1-7.
One of the things we can do to help us meditate on God’s
word is to memorize it. Psalm 119:11.
Memory Verse: Isaiah 55:6-7 - "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.” (Isa. 55:6-7
ESV)
Would you do me a favor? If you got something out of this
devotional time, would you like and/or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or
wherever you do social media? That would help me get the word out, and
hopefully help these devotions be a blessing to others.
God bless you!
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