His Mercy and Forgiveness

The meditation this morning is from one of my all-time favorite chapters in scripture - Isaiah 55:1-13 NIV:

[1] “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.
[2] 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 you will delight in the richest of fare.
[3] Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.
[4] See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples.
[5] Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.”
[6] Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
[7] Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
[8] “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
[9] “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
[10] As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
[11] so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
[12] You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
[13] Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”

Three is so much to think on in these verses. The invitation to come and listen; the fact that God is not like us, we are like Him; the fact that His word will accomplish exactly what He intended; and that it is God's desire for joy and peace to be present in our lives. Any of these significant themes is sufficient for weeks of thought and deep diving, and I have spent much time in these verses through the years.

Today the verse that stood out to me is verse 7 - "Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."

What struck me about this is the difference between a wicked and unrighteous person. This is by no means the only place in scripture that deals with these two terms, but here the distinction is between action and thought. The wicked are called to forsake, or stop their ways (actions), while the unrighteous are called to forsake their thoughts. I know for me, my thoughts are vastly different than my actions, but the Lord cares about both. The Lord knows our thoughts (Ps 139:2). He knows what we ponder, what we entertain, and what we pursue in our minds. It is these thoughts that birth desire, which lead to sin (James 1:13-15) and it is those thoughts which, the Lord says, make us unrighteous. These are not the fleeting thoughts that are dropped into our minds by the enemy, but rather those conscious thoughts and choices we make to think about certain topics and things that are outside of God's purpose and will.

We are called to turn away from disobedience in both categories, action and thought, and turn to God, and He will extend mercy and forgiveness. I love this message of grace and mercy. The Lord knows our ways, knows our thoughts, yet is willing to extend mercy and forgiveness freely. In other words, the only thing we need to do is to turn towards God. There is no paying off, or earning forgiveness and mercy, they are freely extended and given. Mercy and forgiveness were not free to God, but they are free to us!

So let us be encouraged today to turn towards God, and forsake those things that are not of God, both thoughts and actions, and let us embrace His mercy and forgiveness, with joy and peace. He is near and waiting.