Daily Devotions

Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:6-7

Sometimes we forget the basics.

The invitation in these verses begins with “seek the Lord.” How do we do that?

One step in seeking the Lord begins when we “call upon him while he is near.” We call upon him. We get quiet. We become still in body and still in spirit. We pray. And we listen.

As simple as this sounds, it is hard to do. I just experienced a normal Tuesday morning in our home. People waking up and getting ready to go, all stressed to varying degrees by the school work and the job work that lies ahead today, keeping the dog out of the cat food (and off the carpet), breakfast and hair and makeup and packing lunches and “don’t forget’s!!” and “Oops, I forgot my phone” and keeping the dog from running out into the street – and then the traffic! And then the day that lies ahead.

It is easy to see why “seeking the Lord” falls by the wayside. To our own peril. For if there is no room in our days for seeking the Lord it is easy to forget the deeper realities of life – the blessing of waking up in a warm bed, in a home filled with people you love who are God’s gifts in your lives, to a day without worries about where the next meal will come from, and the further blessing of meaningful daily work.

When we fail to seek the Lord, we forget who we are and Whose we are. It is as simple as a few moments of quiet. Praying the Lord’s Prayer. Perhaps writing in a journal (which is where I always land when I feel I have drifted too far away on my own.) I can’t do many other things at the same time when I’m writing so using a journal centers me in ways that little else can do. I’ve long since quit feeling bad about my inability to sustain journaling for more than a few days or weeks at a time – because I can always go back and it always works when I do.

Listening to the Bible with open ears and an open heart is seeking the Lord. These words that have been so long preserved were written just for this purpose – that God might have a word with us.

We can also seek the Lord with others. There is little that is more powerful than what Luther called “the mutual conversation and consolation of the brethren”, what the recovery movement calls sponsors and “check in friends” or what modern writers call “accountability partners.” When God seems far away, it is very helpful to have a couple of other people in our lives that we can reconnect with, and in that reconnection, God draws near.

Congregational life centers on coming near to God, and God coming near to us, in Sunday morning Word and Sacrament worship. Nothing can replace Sunday morning worship…but today is Tuesday and Sunday seems a long way away. “Seeking the Lord while he is near” is too important to wait.

Let us pray: Dear Lord, we are often so distracted by so many things that we forget to come to you. We forget your presence. We forget the power of being quiet in your presence. So we call on you this day, that you might be our rock, our guide, our lamp and our life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have 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 carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. Isaiah 55:1-5

Good news in hard times. Reassurance that better times lie just ahead. This is the message of this portion of Isaiah. Although the people of Israel have suffered for a generation in the refugee camps of Babylon, the promise is certain that they will be heading home to rebuild their lives in Israel.

We long for good news in the midst of hard times. Looking with a wide lens at the way life really is, we realize that there is never a time that isn’t a hard time for someone.

The promise in this text – to eat and drink freely without money – is a daily reality for millions of people. Some have been cut off from their means of making a living by natural disasters, the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, and others live at the mercy of invisible market forces that dominate their lives. If they had to pay for their food, they would go hungry.

One of my best friends has been unemployed for over a year. His job went away when the recession hit, he was one of dozens laid off by his company. Now he, along with about 11 million Americans, worries about losing his unemployment benefits. He worries about how he can pay his bills. Although he sends out resumes every day, he hasn’t had a single interview in his line of work. It is a grind that wears a person thin.

So it is that we long for good news in the midst of hard times.

Our natural inclination in such times is to hide, to isolate, to batten down the hatches of our lives and try and weather the storm. Too often, alone. But God wants better for us. So God invites us to listen closely, to lean into God’s promises. God reminds us that hard times will not separate us from God’s love and provision.

God will find a way.

Let us pray: Dear Lord, we hear your promises spoken long ago to the dispirited people of Israel. Speak your promises again to those who risk losing hope along with everything else they have lost. Draw near to those who fear not being able to support their families. Open the hearts of those responsible for bringing aid to those in need. Teach us the power of sharing, that we might discover anew that there is always enough for all. In Jesus’ name. Amen.